Fort Raleigh National Historic Site (Blog Hike #271)

Trail: Thomas Hariot Nature Trail

Hike Location: Fort Raleigh National Historic Site

Geographic Location: northwest of Manteo, NC (35.93700, -75.70851)

Length: 0.7 miles

Difficulty: 0/10 (Easy)

Dates Hiked: May 2009, March 2016

Overview: A very easy hike through the site of one of the earliest English colonies in America.

Site Information: http://www.nps.gov/fora/index.htm
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=941307
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: From downtown Manteo, take US 264 (NOT US 64 bypass) west 4.4 miles to the monument entrance on the right.  Follow signs for the Visitor Center, and park in the large blacktop lot near the Visitor Center.

The hike: Technically one island inland from the Outer Banks, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site located on Roanoke Island is the site of perhaps the greatest unsolved mystery in colonial America.  The year was 1587 when John White sailed from England for the Chesapeake Bay with 110 colonists.  Since fall was quickly approaching, they never made it to the bay, but instead settled further south at this location.

            White had promised the colonists “a most pleasant and fertile ground,” but a lack of supplies and tense relations with local Indians made this colony anything but what White had promised.  One bright spot: three months after arriving, White’s granddaughter Virginia Dare became the first English person to be born in America.  Otherwise, the situation was bleak, so a week after Virginia’s birth he was compelled to leave the colony and return to England for additional supplies.

            Due to England’s war with Spain, it would be 3 years before White could return to the colony.  When he did, the colony had vanished; no homes, no bones, only a palisade and the word “Croatoan,” the name of a nearby island.  The island was searched, but the colonists were never found.

            The colony’s story is acted out at the historic site through a drama called “The Lost Colony.”  The historic site is also the home of Elizabethan Gardens, a large English-style formal garden that is a must-see for any plant enthusiast.  Wedged between the theater and the garden lies a small system of trails which explore the colony site itself.  You probably won’t find any of the lost colonists on this trail, but you will experience a nice woodland walk through an historically rich location.

Start of trail near Visitor Center

            From the back of the Visitor Center, follow the lighted blacktop path as it heads into the forest.  In only 100 yards, you will arrive at the restored fort.  The fort looks small, but it was large enough for this small colony.  No rocks or clay for bricks were available on this island, so the colonists had to construct the fort out of what they had: dirt and wood.  The result is a simple washer-type construction that would be difficult to ascend from any direction.  Fortunately, a couple of gaps give today’s visitors a much easier way to enter.

Entering the re-created fort

            Ignore the blacktop path that exits from the front of the fort (it leads to Elizabethan Gardens), and instead take the dirt Thomas Hariot Nature Trail, which is marked with a brown metal sign.  Turn left to leave the blacktop and begin the trail.  Note that continuing straight on the blacktop path will take you to the Waterside Theater where the drama mentioned above is performed nightly every summer.

            When the trail reaches the edge of the open area containing the fort, angle right and enter the deeper forest.  Numerous interpretive signs on the trail tell you about the plants and animals of the forest that the colonists would have found useful.  Many of these items would have been cataloged by Thomas Hariot, the man for whom this trail is named, in his book “A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia.”  He was not part of the lost colony; rather he had visited this area two years earlier in 1585 and conducted research for his report.  As accurate as it was, his knowledge was not enough to save the colony.

            At 0.25 miles, the trail reaches Roanoke Sound at a point that probably looks much like the colonists would have seen it.  This is not where the colonists first came ashore.  To visit that point, you will need to walk through Elizabethan Gardens.

Trail down to Roanoke Sound

            The trail curves left as it begins looping back to the fort, passing more interpretive signs along the way.  Soon the fort and the blacktop path you started on come into view.  Turn right and walk along the pavement, retracing your steps to the Visitor Center to complete the hike.