Outer Banks Scenic Byway
Outer Banks Scenic Byway is a National Scenic Byway in North Carolina. Within North Carolina it covers roughly 150 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along Outer Banks Scenic Byway with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
Outer Banks Scenic Byway follows NC 12 for roughly 131 miles along North Carolina's barrier islands, one of only about 150 National Scenic Byways in the country. Established in 2009, the route links 21 coastal villages and requires two ferry crossings as it threads together the Outer Banks north to Nags Head. Four lighthouses mark the way, including Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, at 210 feet the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States, and Bodie Island Lighthouse further north. For 13 miles the byway runs through Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, a narrow barrier-island habitat that hosts some 365 recorded bird species across its dunes, marshes, and ponds. Unlike most of North Carolina's state-designated byways, this is a federally recognized National Scenic Byway, reflecting the singular, constantly shifting landscape of sand, sound, and ocean that the road survives on, often rebuilt after storms move the dunes around it. It's one of the most heavily visited scenic drives in the state, especially in summer.
- NC Highway 12
- ~131 miles, 21 coastal villages
- National Scenic Byway (designated 2009)
- Cape Hatteras Lighthouse (210 ft)
- Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
- two ferry crossings
Designated for its cultural qualities
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Places to stop along Outer Banks Scenic Byway
Wright Brothers National Memorial
The dunes at Kill Devil Hills where the Wrights made the first powered flights in December 1903, with a granite monument and the flight markers.
WebsiteJockey's Ridge State Park
The tallest living sand dune system on the Atlantic coast, a favorite for hang gliding lessons and sunset walks.
Bodie Island Lighthouse
A black-and-white banded 1872 lighthouse rising from the marshes, open for climbs in season.
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Thirteen wild miles between ocean and sound, with ponds full of snow geese, swans, and ducks in winter.
WebsiteChicamacomico Life-Saving Station
The most complete surviving life-saving station complex in North Carolina, in Rodanthe, with summer drills recreating rescues.
WebsiteCape Hatteras Lighthouse
At about 200 feet, the tallest brick lighthouse in the U.S., moved inland in 1999 to escape the eroding shore; climb its 257 steps in season.
WebsiteGraveyard of the Atlantic Museum
A Hatteras museum on the thousands of ships wrecked off these shoals, beside the ferry docks.
Ocracoke Lighthouse
An 1823 whitewashed lighthouse in Ocracoke village, a car-ferry ride from Hatteras, once a haunt of the pirate Blackbeard.
Core Sound Waterfowl Museum
A Harkers Island museum of decoy carving and the Down East villages' fishing and hunting traditions.
Website
Where to Stay along Outer Banks Scenic Byway
12 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of Outer Banks Scenic Byway.
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Photos of Outer Banks Scenic Byway
What is a National Scenic Byway?
National Scenic Byways are roads recognized at the federal level for at least one outstanding quality — scenic, natural, historic, cultural, archaeological or recreational — that gives travelers a reason to seek them out rather than just pass through.