Raleigh, North Carolina offers visitors and residents alike a variety of free activities and attractions to enjoy. As the capital and second largest city in North Carolina, Raleigh features great museums, parks, historic sites and more, many of which can be experienced free of charge.
| Activity | Description |
|---|---|
| Visit the North Carolina Museum of Art | Art collections and park |
| Explore Pullen Park | Recreational activities |
| Stroll through the Historic Oakwood | Architectural and historic tours |
| Enjoy the Raleigh Rose Garden | Beautiful garden displays |
| Hike at Umstead State Park | Natural trails and scenic views |
| Tour the North Carolina Museum of History | Educational exhibits |
| Discover the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences | Interactive science displays |
| Walk through the City of Raleigh Museum | Local history exhibits |
| Relax at Lake Johnson Park | Waterfront and trails |
| Experience the Raleigh Municipal Rose Garden | Variety of roses and peaceful settings |
| Explore the JC Raulston Arboretum | Botanical collections |
| Attend Art in the Evening | Art, music, and socializing |
From admiring public art and green spaces to learning about science and history, there are engaging free things to do in Raleigh for people of all ages and interests. Many options even provide insight into the culture and story of Raleigh itself. And the temperate climate means outdoor free activities can be enjoyed year-round.
Whether you’re a local looking for a frugal day out or a traveler wanting to stretch your vacation funds, this list of top free things highlights can’t miss stops to incorporate into your Raleigh itinerary.
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
Name and Location: The NC Museum of Natural Sciences is located in downtown Raleigh at 11 West Jones Street adjoining Nash Square.
History and Significance: Open since 1879, the museum spotlights science research across state ecology, environments and wildlife. Extensive collections and exhibits engage visitors to better understand North Carolina’s amazing natural habitats.
What to Expect: Expansive galleries feature dioramas, fossils, taxidermy, crystals, minerals and living aquatic displays alongside replica mountain, piedmont and coastal environments containing river otters, turtles, snakes and fish.
Visitor Information: Open Mon-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm. Free admission but fee for planetarium, 4D theater and special exhibits. Museum store on site.
Spread across multiple floors and wings, the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences downtown offers visitors expansive galleries featuring complete dinosaur skeletons, exotic species from around the world, sparkling gems and minerals and eye-catching wildlife dioramas. Visitors can even watch lab researchers actively work.
With a centerpiece whale skeleton towering above visitors in the atrium, this Smithsonian-affiliated museum could easily charge admission. But entry to all exhibits is completely free, making it an ideal activity for families. Temporary exhibits do sometimes require paid tickets.
Spend just an hour skimming the highlights or dedicate a whole afternoon immersed in discovery at this top Raleigh museum. Don’t miss checking the schedule for opportunities to view live animals up close.
Historic Oak View County Park
Name and Location: Historic Oak View County Park spans 50 acres at 4028 Carya Drive, northwest of downtown Raleigh near the RDU Airport area.
History and Significance: Once the 1700s-era homestead of early Raleigh leader Joel Lane, Historic Oak View Park now protects Lane’s restored antebellum home, scenic gardens, plus nature trails and 19th century farm buildings chronicling North Carolina’s agricultural history as an interactive historic site.
What to Expect: Visitor can tour the historic manor house, explore heritage gardens, barns and log cabins, walk woodland trails along the property’s creeks and ponds, interact with heritage breed farm animals or participate in hands-on period cooking and crafts demos during special event days.
Visitor Information: Park open daily 8am-5pm. Joel Lane House tours available by appointment. Some fees apply for events and house entry. Nature trails and gardens free to access daily.
For a glimpse into 19th century farm life, head to Historic Oak View County Park. This living history museum centered around a restored antebellum farmstead lets visitors explore the log house, kitchen and outbuildings spread across the rolling pasture lands.
Costumed interpreters demonstrate heritage skills and trades including open hearth cooking, quilting and blacksmithing during special event days that showcase life in the 1800s. Kids can even help feed resident farm animals like heritage cattle, hogs and sheep when the barns are open.
The park also encompasses nature trails passing through mixed hardwood forests as well as a shady picnic area along the creek, making for a nice refreshing walk on a sunny day. Open daily without admission costs, Historic Oak View County Park provides the perfect place to step back in time.
North Carolina State Capitol
Name and Location: The North Carolina State Capitol building is located downtown at 1 East Edenton Street within the capital complex loop adjoining several monuments and state government structures.
History and Significance: Completed in 1840, the elegant State Capitol housed in a Greek Revival structure welcomes visitors to explore North Carolina’s rich political history via tours and exhibits inside the National Historic Landmark building anchoring downtown Raleigh’s north end.
What to Expect: Free access allows visitors to view the ornate House and Senate chambers plus the third floor portrait gallery inside the iconic copper-domed capitol. Guided tours provide deeper insight on history and architecture. The lush state government plaza offers scenic strolling.
Visitor Information: North Carolina’s State Capitol is open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free guided tours are offered on the hour.
North Carolina’s State Capitol building presides over downtown Raleigh with its towering stone facade and striking copper dome. Completed in 1840, this National Historic Landmark has witnessed governoring spanning over 175 years. Walking through the halls provides a free glimpse into the historic heart of the state.
Guided tours provide opportunities to view the ornate house and senate chambers where laws are made, along with the preserved governor’s office. The Capitol also houses a small free museum with rotating exhibits covering aspects of state government, history and culture. Outside, stroll the lush five-acre Union Square district surrounding the Capitol to admire some of Raleigh’s best public art and monuments.
Don’t miss joining a free tour or skimming exhibits when visiting downtown Raleigh to better understand the governmental history that has shaped North Carolina.
Art to Heart Community Gallery
Name and Location: Art to Heart Community Gallery is located at 200 E Davie St in downtown Raleigh’s warehouse district.
History and Significance: Established in 2004 in downtown’s revitalized warehouse zone, this nonprofit gallery features work by emerging local artists and provides art education programming that unites the Raleigh community and empowers creative youth.
What to Expect: Rotating exhibits present media spanning painting, pottery, sculpture, textiles and jewelry crafted by over 60 member artists. Opening receptions, classes and hands-on community art events occur regularly within the bright two-room gallery.
Visitor Information: Open Wednesday–Saturday 12-6pm with extended hours on the First Friday Gallery Walk from 6-9pm. Closed Sunday-Tuesday. Free admission. Street parking or nearby deck.
Raleigh’s Art to Heart Community Gallery at North Hills provides the ideal space for local artists to showcase their works across multiple creative mediums like painting, photography, jewelry and more. The light-filled gallery hosts new collections every few months to continuously cycle in fresh artistic perspectives.
In addition to admiring innovative pieces adorning the minimalist gallery walls, visitors can browse the artist gift shop with affordable original artworks and meet creators at opening night receptions. Contemplating the diversity of artwork while speaking with artists makes for an inspiring and engaging art experience that creative types and art admirers alike will appreciate.
With free admission and parking, Art to Heart’s community gallery offers the perfect rainy day activity to spark inspiration when visiting Raleigh.
Historic City Market
Name and Location: City Market occupies two blocks at the corner of Martin and Blount Streets in downtown Raleigh beside Moore Square Park.
History and Significance: For over a century, Raleigh’s City Market has functioned as a hub of commerce in various incarnations. The current mixed-use site houses creative boutiques, art galleries and dining options inside renovated 19th century warehouse buildings.
What to Expect: Visitors browse the cluster of independent shops, artisans and creative businesses alongside patio cafes and unique restaurants while whiling away an afternoon or meeting friends for happy hour drinks.
Visitor Information: Hours vary widely so check individual site listings. Metered street parking available. Moore Square Garage is the closest parking deck option.
Dating back over a century, Raleigh’s City Market remains an enduring place to gather, shop, dine and more in a shady oasis downtown. The intimate plaza filled with flowers and fountains features an ever-changing array of vendor stalls and food trucks. Visitors can browse home goods, sample freshly popped kettle corn or select seasonal produce without spending a dime.
Special events like the long-running Saturday morning Raleigh Flea Market, summer Jazz in the Square performances and holiday programming mean there’s almost always something lively happening in the Historic City Market’s festive public space. The market also connects conveniently by foot to the State Capitol, museums and more downtown destinations.
Pack a picnic lunch and stake out a cafe table or shaded bench in the City Market to comfortably people watch and soak up downtown’s charm.
Yates Mill County Park
Name and Location: Yates Mill County Park sits on 175 acres beside scenic Swift Creek at 4620 Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh, North Carolina.
History and Significance: Yates Mill, a rare still-working gristmill from the mid-1800s that once supplied grain products across the state, is now preserved to demonstrate its historical milling operation within a scenic Wake County park also offering fishing, picnicking and environmental education.
What to Expect: Visitors can take self-guided tours of Yates Mill to observe its impressive gears and grinding stones powered by the creek plus walk nearly 2 miles of nature trails through wetlands and hardwood forest inhabited by diverse wildlife and plants.
Visitor Information: Park open daily 8am–dusk. Free admission. Weekday mill demonstrations given plus special events like heritage craft presentations across the seasonally varying calendar.
Yates Mill County Park transports visitors away from bustling city life with meandering wetlands, lush forests and historic structures nestled into a peaceful 175-acre refuge. A scenic 1.5 mile loop trail takes walkers past the operational gristmill – one of only a couple water-powered mills still functioning statewide – plus elevated boardwalks through swampy cypress stands, verdant meadows and remnants of long-ago homesteads.
Built in the mid-1760s, historians and engineers restored Yates Mill to working order, using its still functioning gears, wheel and stones to grind cornmeal sold onsite. The park also features mill demonstrations, monthly events and an education center offering exhibits detailing the site’s history and inner workings.
Yates Mill County Park delivers a gratifying dose of nature less than 15 minutes from downtown Raleigh. Come enjoy a peaceful walk or engaging programs for free daily.
North Carolina Museum of History
Name and Location: The NC Museum of History is located at 5 E Edenton Street in downtown Raleigh, directly across from the State Capitol.
History and Significance: As North Carolina’s first state-supported history museum, established in 1902, this Smithsonian Institution affiliate contains a massive collection spotlighting the state’s artistic, cultural and societal stories from early indigenous inhabitants through the present day across evolving exhibits and programs.
What to Expect: Three packed floors of core exhibits utilize artifacts, dioramas, archival materials and multimedia displays to immerse visitors into different eras of North Carolina history touching on the coast, Piedmont and mountains regions including cultural contributions statewide across politics, sports, music and cuisine.
Visitor Information: Free general admission Tuesday–Saturday 9 am to 5 pm. Some special programs and exhibits require tickets. Metered street parking or public decks nearby. Museum gift shop on site.
From early Native American heritage through the 21st century, the sprawling North Carolina Museum of History chronicles over 14,000 years of the state’s stories. Covering regional industries, military moments, sports achievements and more, the family-friendly museum utilizes films, recreated environments and full-scale structures like a coastal cottage to convey captivating exhibits across nearly 150,000 square feet.
While temporary special exhibits sometimes require tickets, admission into the museum’s five long-term galleries spotlighting everything from the colonial era through recent times remains completely free. Visitors can easily spend hours getting lost learning about the decisive events and cultural evolution that have shaped the Tar Heel state.
As North Carolina’s most-visited history museum located in the capital city, this engaging repository of artifacts, images and exhibits provides the ideal place to immerse in understanding the state’s remarkable journey through time.
Pullen Park
Name and Location: Pullen Park is a family-friendly 65-acre public park located northwest of downtown Raleigh near NC State at 525 Ashe Ave. Bordered by Hillsborough St., Enterprise St., and Ashe Ave.
History and Significance: Founded in 1887 as one of North Carolina’s first public parks, Pullen Park preserves urban green space where locals enjoy pedal boats, kiddie rides, interactive fountains, picnic facilities and seasonal concerts alongside formal gardens.
What to Expect: Visitors walk shaded paths to admire gardens, take a spin on the preserved 1905 Dentzel menagerie carousel, rent swan boats to paddle scenic Pullen Lake by fountain views or let kids romp at innovative playgrounds like Whirligig Woods featuring cedar tunnels and log climbs.
Visitor Information: Pullen Park is open daily from April 1st to October 31st from 8am to 8pm with seasonal hours the rest of the year. Separate fees apply for pedal boat rentals and amusement rides.
Spread across 66 verdant acres in the heart of Raleigh, Pullen Park charms visitors as the city’s first public space. Established in 1887 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the expansive park encompasses playful attractions like pedal boats circling a small lake, amusement rides, mini golf and a tiny train chugging around the perimeter.
Beyond entertainment offerings, relaxing escapes abound throughout Pullen Park. Locals and visitors picnic under stately oaks, linger in colorful garden spaces and wander along pathways linking endearing landmarks from a quaint stone theater to an antique carousel. Special events like outdoor concerts on the Rhode’s Center lawn keep the community park lively year-round.
With free admission, unlimited access to green space and many free activities, Pullen Park remains an enduring people-pleasing place for carefree fun just west of downtown Raleigh.
Artspace Gallery
Name and Location: ARTSPACE | Raleigh is a visual arts nonprofit gallery located in downtown Raleigh’s City Market area at 201 E Davie Street.
History and Significance: Open since 1986 in Raleigh’s warehouse district, ARTSPACE Gallery functions as a highly-regarded nonprofit venue dedicated to presenting new and local artists across rotating exhibitions plus fostering community engagement with the visual arts via public events.
What to Expect: Crisp white-walled galleries showcase diverse artworks across styles and media from painting to sculpture to photography within rotating monthly exhibits, complemented by opening night receptions and regular artist talks engaging the pubic through creativity.
Visitor Information: Free admission. Open Wednesday-Saturday from 10am-5pm and extended hours for downtown First Friday gallery walks monthly from 6-9pm. Some exhibits and events may have special schedules.
Tucked away in downtown Raleigh’s historic Sanders Ford building, the intimate Artspace Gallery provides a relaxed place to contemplate a rotating array of thought-provoking works from regional artists. Covering styles from avant garde paintings to mixed media sculptures, this nonprofit gallery focuses exclusively on showcasing artists from North Carolina – typically works curated around intriguing themes.
In addition to open hours all week for free self-guided viewing, Artspace also hosts opening night receptions and special events that allow visitors to meet exhibiting creators. Noticeably more edgy and unconventional than traditional museums, Artspace provides a nice alternative space to engage with compelling contemporary artwork in an unintimidating way. Don’t expect to leave without provocative discussion guaranteed to linger for days.
William B. Umstead State Park
Name and Location: William B. Umstead State Park sits amidst 5,579 acres of dense forest surrounded by the Triangle region at 8801 Glenwood Ave in Raleigh, NC adjoining the RDU International Airport.
History and Significance: North Carolina’s largest state park within a major city offers a true refuge of nature so close to the bustling capital metro as a recreation getaway cherished by locals for its 22 miles of hiking trails past creeks, lakes and abundant wildlife plus scenic campgrounds.
What to Expect: Umstead’s huge haven of resilient forest filled with pines, oaks and hickory invites visitors to hike, mountain bike, trail run, stargaze overnight, study flora and fauna while observing its untamed sylvan ecosystems dotted with diverse leafy plants, wildflowers, woodland creatures and over 150 species of birds.
Visitor Information: 8 am-6 pm November-February; closes at 8 pm March, April, September and October; closes at 9 pm May-August. Foot traffic only; no vehicles on trails. Leashed pets permitted on some trails.
Spanning over 5,500 acres just minutes from bustling Raleigh suburbs, Umstead State Park transports visitors into serene wilderness reminiscent of rural North Carolina landscapes over a century ago. Diverse hiking options like the multi-use Company Mill Trail and more challenging Cedar Ridge and Back Forty Trails cater to all ability levels.
Shaded by towering pines, hemlocks and hardwoods, the peaceful refuge centered around manmade Lake Crabtree offers paddling, picnicking and camping opportunities for outdoors enthusiasts along with quiet spots to simply sit and soak up nature. Carefully designed by the Civilian Conservation Corp, amenities like gently sloping trails and babbling brooks create accessibility.
Open year round for free to enjoy daily from dawn until dusk, William B. Umstead State Park provides the ideal natural escape right from North Carolina’s capital city.
North Carolina Museum of Art
Name and Location: The North Carolina Museum of Art is located at 2110 Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh near the State Fairgrounds and Meredith College.
History and Significance: Established in 1956, this expansive museum houses outstanding collections of art spanning 5,000 years inside a 164-acre setting of outdoor sculpture gardens and walking paths designed to integrate art with nature.
What to Expect: The NCMA’s galleries invite visitors to admire works by legendary European painters, contemporary American artists, dazzling Rodin statues and special visiting exhibitions inside and outdoors within a park-like campus that hosts events year-round.
Visitor Information: Open Tues-Sat 9am–5pm, Sun 10am–5pm with extended hours on Fri. Admission is free, parking is $5 weekdays and free on weekends. Guided group tours available by reservation.
Spanning 164 acres dotted with eye-catching outdoor sculptures surrounding a striking modern building, the North Carolina Museum of Art impresses before even viewing a single exhibit. While some special shows require tickets, admission to the museum’s East Building permanent collection capturing 5,000 years of global works remains free.
Covering pieces from ancient Mediterranean reliquaries to modern masterpieces, the expansive galleries arranged chronologically provide engaging journeys through art history. Don’t miss the celebrated courtyard featuring Rodin sculptures .
The museum also hosts events like live music, film screenings and art-making workshops to enjoy onsite. Trails accommodating jogging, biking and leashed dogs invite exploring outside as well. Whether passionate about art or simply looking to admire beautiful works, the NC Museum of Art’s free access makes for a refined day well-spent.
Mordecai Historic Park
Name and Location: Mordecai Historic Park at 1 Mimosa Street comprises a historic house museum and gardens in the heart of Raleigh’s Oakwood neighborhood near downtown.
History and Significance: The late-18th century Mordecai homeplace turned city-owned historic site provides a window into the lifestyle of the Mordecai family, some of Raleigh’s earliest established residents and wealthy landowners during the federal period through Civil War who contributed greatly to local growth.
What to Expect: Visitors can embark on guided tours of the imposing Federal-style Mordecai house extravagantly furnished to the period while strolling landscaped 19th century formal gardens on grounds that represent one of Raleigh’s most treasured historic attractions evoking the capital city’s genteel earlier eras.
Visitor Information: Open Tuesday–Sunday 10am–4pm for guided house tours starting hourly and self-guided garden walks. Closed Mondays. Ticket sales end at 3pm. Tours limited to 8 guests currently per COVID precautions.
Transport back to the 19th century within downtown Raleigh at Mordecai Historic Park. Centered around the restored birthplace home of influential local leader Moses Mordecai, the tranquil park features the Federal-style manor now containing interpretive exhibits.
Visitor can take self-guided tours of the Mordecai homestead daily to glimpse into refined 19th century life. Costumed interpreters also offer guided house tours on select weekends describing rooms furnished with inherited family pieces. Outside, nature trails and gardens invite peaceful wandering beneath flowering crepe myrtles and towering longleaf pines.
Unique special events like candlelit Christmas tours, nature programs and summer music concerts occur periodically as well. With no admission fee, Mordecai Historic Park provides a nice change of pace to incorporate history and charming scenery.
Conclusion
Raleigh delivers plentiful options for free entertainment spanning historic sites, artistic galleries, science museums and gorgeous parks waiting to be explored. The 12 attractions highlighted above only scratch the surface of budget-friendly things to do available in and around North Carolina’s capital city.
Whether traveling solo, as a couple or with an entire family to occupy, Raleigh offers engaging activities to appeal to all interests. Take advantage of the city’s many free offerings for a meaningful visit without breaking the bank.