The Outer Banks Scenic Byway received national sta­tus in August as one of America’s Byways, plac­ing NC Highway 12 on the map, so to speak, for its fas­ci­nat­ing coastal her­itage and unique nat­ural land­scapes, mak­ing the leg of the his­toric two-lane high­way from Nags Head, NC to Down East a per­fect autumn drive for explor­ing the beauty of the bar­rier islands and con­nect­ing with the coastal com­mu­ni­ties that set the des­ti­na­tion apart.