Completely enclosed by sound waters and removed from the vacation hubbub of the beaches, Roanoke Island is charming, quiet and picturesque.
History saturates the island.
On the north end is the site where the first English colony settled in the New World in 1587. The colony disappeared a few years after settlement, and their story is told on summer nights at The Lost Colony outdoor drama. On the same property are the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and the formal Elizabethan Gardens, the perfect place for an escape from the sun. The other Roanoke Island town, Wanchese, is named for the other chief. Manteo, the Dare County seat, is a pleasant place to spend an afternoon, or a weekend.