Thomas Hariot Trail
in North Carolina · centroid 65 mi from Virginia Beach
The Thomas Hariot Trail, offers great views of Albemarle Sound while exploring the beautiful and unique maritime forest. There are great opportunities for birding along the trail, and several trailside markers provide some perspecitve on the area and ecosystem. Trail is a half-mile loop.
A Strange New Land In the late 1500s, Roanoke Island and London had very little in common. Imagine what it was like for Thomas Hariot when he first set foot on this strange new land. New people, new plants, new animals- everything was truly "new." Is this land new to you?
Look carefully and listen closely as you walk this trail. What strikes you most about this foreign land? A Very Costly Venture Although supported by Queen Elizabeth, the Roanoke Voyages were privately funded.
- States
- North Carolina
- Trail type
- National Historic Site trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Virginia Beach, VA · 65 mi · ~1.9 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 35.9385°, -75.7093°
About Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
This trail is inside Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, a national historic site managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/000/thomas-hariot-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/fora/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Thomas Hariot Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.