Roanoke Trail (Red)

Best Time to Hike the Roanoke Trail (Red)

Nags Head Woods Preserve is open dawn to dusk daily, giving you flexibility on when to start the Roanoke Trail — there's no fixed schedule or tour time to plan around, since the preserve is self-guided. If you want a chance to see something in bloom, time a visit for early summer, when the southern tway-blade — a tiny native orchid — flowers along the trail. Outside of that window, the walk is simply available any day during preserve hours, making it an easy add to a Nags Head Woods visit whenever your schedule allows.

Trail Tips for the Roanoke Trail (Red)

• Wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes — the dirt tread is covered in pine needles with exposed roots in places
• Grab the preserve's smartphone audio tour before you start; it flags stops along the route if you want more context on the trail's history as you walk
• The trail is pet-friendly and family-friendly, like the rest of the preserve's trail network
• Because the Roanoke Trail connects into the rest of the preserve's network, it's easy to link it with the Discovery Trail or other nearby loops from the same trailhead for a longer outing

Getting to the Roanoke Trail (Red) Trailhead

The Roanoke Trail (Red) is inside Nags Head Woods Preserve, on the Roanoke Sound side of the barrier island in Kill Devil Hills. Park at the preserve's main office on West Ocean Acres Drive, which serves as the access point for the entire trail network. The preserve is self-guided, so there's no check-in or tour required — just start from the main office parking area and follow signage for the Roanoke Trail.

What to Expect on the Roanoke Trail (Red) at Nags Head Woods Preserve

The Roanoke Trail (Red) is one of several color-blazed trails inside Nags Head Woods Preserve, a roughly 1,400-acre maritime forest in Kill Devil Hills jointly protected by The Nature Conservancy and the Town of Nags Head. It runs longer than most of the preserve's other trails and follows the old driveway of a homestead that once stood on this ground, giving the walk a layer of cultural history along with the scenery. The tread itself is a wide, easy dirt path, canopied the entire way under mature maritime forest, so it stays shaded and noticeably cooler than open ground as you walk. The trail ends at a small, quiet beach on the Roanoke Sound — a soundside payoff that most Outer Banks hikes don't offer.