Some Outer Banks attractions are worth a stop if you happen to be passing. The Butterfly Release at the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo is worth planning a day around. It's a small, genuinely charming experience — you hold a live butterfly, you let it go into a 10-acre botanical garden on Roanoke Island, and for a few minutes a beach vacation slows down into something quieter and more memorable. It's one of the better things you can do on the OBX with young kids, and it photographs beautifully.
Here's how the release works, what to expect from the gardens themselves, and how to turn it into a full day trip from your base in Grandy.
What the Butterfly Release Actually Is
The Elizabethan Gardens runs a seasonal Butterfly Release Program through the summer months. At each session, staff hand out individually packaged live butterflies, walk the group through how to handle them, and then everyone releases their butterflies together into the gardens. Kids who are nervous about insects warm up to it quickly — the butterflies are calm, they perch on fingertips, and the release itself is gentle and unhurried.
The practical details:
- When: Wednesdays and Thursdays, with sessions at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM during the summer season
- Cost: Around $16 per person, which includes full admission to the gardens for the day
- Ages: Recommended for ages 3 and up — younger toddlers can attend with a parent but may not be ready to handle a butterfly themselves
- Where: The Elizabethan Gardens, 1411 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954, on the north end of Roanoke Island next to Fort Raleigh
- Booking: Reserve ahead through leapevents.com — these sessions are capped and do sell out on busy summer weeks, especially the morning slots
Because admission is bundled into the ticket price, the release is genuinely good value: you're paying garden-admission money and getting the butterfly experience on top of it. Plan to arrive 15–20 minutes early to park, check in, and let kids settle before the session starts.
A Word on Timing
The 10:00 AM session is the better pick if you're bringing young children or want softer light for photos — the gardens are cooler, quieter, and the butterflies are more active in the morning warmth without the midday heat. The 2:00 PM session works well if you're pairing the gardens with a morning on the beach or a lunch in downtown Manteo first.
Summer on Roanoke Island gets hot and humid, so the morning slot is the more comfortable experience overall. Bring water, hats, and sunscreen regardless — much of the garden is open to the sky, though there's plenty of shade among the live oaks.
The Gardens Are the Real Draw
Even without the butterfly release, the Elizabethan Gardens are one of Roanoke Island's quiet highlights — and a reminder that there's far more to the Outer Banks than the beach strip. The 10-acre site is run by the Garden Club of North Carolina and laid out as a 16th-century-style formal garden, built to honor the first English colonists who landed here in the 1580s.
What you'll find inside:
- The Sunken Garden — a formal parterre with clipped hedges, seasonal annuals, and an antique Italian fountain at its center
- Towering live oaks draped in resurrection fern, some of them centuries old, shading winding gravel paths
- The Great Lawn and Gazebo overlooking Roanoke Sound — one of the prettier water views in the area
- Year-round color — camellias in winter and early spring, azaleas and hydrangeas through the warm months, and the Queen's Rose Garden in peak bloom
- The Shakespeare Herb Garden and a quiet woodland trail toward the water
It's the kind of place where an hour disappears easily. Strollers roll fine on the main paths, there are shaded benches throughout, and the gift shop near the entrance is genuinely good. Plan for 60–90 minutes in the gardens beyond the release session itself.
Building a Full Manteo Day Around It
The Elizabethan Gardens sit at the north end of Roanoke Island, clustered with two of the area's best attractions, so it's easy to make a full, low-stress day of it.
Right next door:
- Fort Raleigh National Historic Site — free to enter, this is the site of the famous "Lost Colony." Short interpretive trails, a visitor center, and the Waterside Theatre where The Lost Colony outdoor drama runs on summer evenings.
- The Roanoke Island maritime trail and sound-side overlooks just steps from the gardens.
A few minutes south in downtown Manteo:
- The Manteo waterfront — a walkable boardwalk along Shallowbag Bay lined with local shops, ice cream, and restaurants. The Elizabeth II, a representation of a 16th-century sailing ship, is docked here at Roanoke Island Festival Park.
- Lunch on the water — downtown Manteo has several good sit-down spots and casual cafés within an easy walk of the boardwalk.
Also on the island:
- The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island — one of the best aquariums in the state and an easy rainy-day or afternoon pivot. See our full NC Aquarium on Roanoke Island guide for what to prioritize with kids.
A natural rhythm: morning butterfly release and a slow wander through the gardens, lunch on the Manteo waterfront, then either the aquarium or a stroll through Fort Raleigh in the afternoon. For more ideas on structuring the day, our complete Manteo day-trip guide covers parking, the best waterfront stops, and where to eat.
Getting There from Grandy
From Grandy Cove, Manteo and the Elizabethan Gardens are roughly a 45–55 minute drive south — down the Currituck mainland, across to the beaches, and over the Washington Baum Bridge onto Roanoke Island. It's a scenic, low-traffic route compared to the summer crush on the beach-road bypass, which is one of the underrated advantages of basing yourself on the quieter northern gateway to the OBX.
If you're traveling with a dog, note that the Elizabethan Gardens does not permit pets inside (service animals excepted), so this is a day to leave your dog comfortable back at the rental. Grandy Cove is fully pet-friendly with no size restrictions, so a few hours in the air conditioning while you visit the gardens is no problem — and there's a fenced yard and a private dock waiting when you get back. For more dog-aware OBX planning, our pet-friendly Outer Banks guide breaks down which attractions welcome dogs and which don't.
Make It a Tradition
The butterfly release is the rare attraction that works for nearly everyone — toddlers, grandparents, photographers, and anyone who likes a slower, prettier morning than the beach always provides. Families who try it once tend to put it on the calendar for every return trip. Pair it with a Manteo waterfront lunch and an afternoon at the aquarium and you've got one of the most well-rounded, weather-flexible days the Outer Banks offers.
Planning a summer trip and want to be perfectly placed for Roanoke Island day trips, quiet sound-front mornings, and easy beach access? Check availability at Grandy Cove and book direct — no platform fees, a private dock on Currituck Sound, and room for the whole family, dogs included.