Overall Route Rating
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3.86 out of 5 Rider Rating 3.86
9 Reviews

The Coastal Huggin' NC 12

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By Guest (0 McR Points) on Mar 31, 2009

Rider Reviews

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Pouge
62 McR Points
March 29, 2012
I grew up not far from the OBX, and it's hard for…
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Guest
November 16, 2010
We rode this route over Veterans Day 2010. Great…
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Written Directions

If you want to start at the southern most point, you would need to take the Ocracoke ferry. The link below will take you to the NC ferry system if you intend to travel the entire route from south to north or vice versa. The ferry from Ocracoke Island to cedar Island (which has bridges to the mainland) is about 2 hours 30 minutes. https://www.ncbeaches.com/Documents/Beta/ If you want to avoid the ferry ride, you can basically start in the middle and do either the north leg first or the south leg first. To get to the middle starting point, you can start in Whalebone, NC and head north or south on NC 12. Note, from there, Bodie Island lighthouse is just 6 miles south.

Scenery

Along NC 12 you are on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My son and I rode along with the Atlantic Ocean on one side, and the Intercoastal Waterway on the other! Lots of sand dunes, and people along the route flying kites because of the wind. The historical lighthouses along this route are Bodie Island, Hatteras, and Ocracoke. Hatteras and Ocracoke are beautiful places to visit.

Drive Enjoyment

The hardest thing to deal with was not the road, but the constant left to right wind sweeping in from the ocean. At times it was more like sailing than riding with the bike heeled over a bit. Since my Honda is only a 500cc model, a heavier bike may not be so affected.

Tourism Opportunities

This route has a LOT of tourist attractions to stop at and enjoy when its time to take a break. There are also all kinds of campgrounds along the route. There are numerous places to pull off and go walk along the beach. There is good shopping in both Hatteras, and Ocracoke as well as many restaurants. The gas stations going south before you get to Avon are pretty far apart. The cost of gas along the route was pretty high as well if you use premium. It was about $2.70 a gallon. If you do not turn onto NC 12 and go south just east of Manteo, you will go north into Kitty Hawk, NC. and there is a museum, and park dedicated to the Wright Brothers that is well worth the trip.

Motorcycle Road Additional info

- View the weather forecast for this area from Yahoo weather .
 

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Karl Kraengel II
April 15, 2020
43 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Touring
Nice riding lots of tourist type stuff to see. Light houses great rentals down in Hattares. the ferry was fun , the some good food and drinks in Ocracoke
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OrangeCrush0208
August 17, 2020
9 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Touring
Not as much "scenery" as expected, but the roads are decent and its peaceful. The traffic to cross the islands can get a little heavy, but that's to be expected since it's the only road through.
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Jerry Donna Va
May 3, 2022
116 McR Points
Motorcycle Type : Cruiser
watch out bouncing boobs
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