Dare County Arboretum and Teaching Garden — Attraction in Kill Devil Hills

Though this place sits quietly among some government buildings, unobtrusive and without obvious signage, I would recommend visiting. We made sure to see the butterfly garden (though the end of season, some botanist was making sure some flowers were in bloom). The botanical gardens has some invasive species but not all were labeled as such, such as nandina. Some species were labeled as native, I appreciate that. Also the pond has a nice walkway around it, it's close to a dog park and skate rink and skateboard park, so busy and well visited. I counted 8 turtles...

Walked here in September 2020, easy to find and shaded for sunny days. Lovely spread of gangly pathways displaying persimmon, live oaks, azaleas, holly, wax myrtles, and all kinds of NC coastal varieties. Spent about 20-30 min wandering the area. It could use a signage and label update, plus I was surprised at the lack of berried juniper (cypress?) which is all over the place in OBX. But a peaceful spot to take a stroll. Breezy when I went, no bug spray or suntan...

What a great little arboretum! We visited in the early evening of July 9 to get our young grandson something to do and look at to wear him out a little. There are lots of colors and scents. There are birds and several kinds of bees. Dragonflies and other pollinators are all over the place! Swallowtail caterpillars on a few plants. There are a few more mosquitoes back in the wetlands sections but it’s wetlands… It was a fun evening walk!...