N.C. Highway 12, which is managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation and partially by the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, begins at the northern boundary of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore adjacent to the Town of Nags Head in Dare County and terminates in the Village of Ocracoke in Hyde County. 

The highway is located within or adjacent to nine towns or villages including Nags Head, Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, Hatteras Village and Ocracoke Village. The highway is largely embedded within the 67-mile long Cape Hatteras National Seashore, including a stretch within the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on the northern portion of Hatteras Island. 

The Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry connects Highway 12 in Dare County on Hatteras Island to the southern portion of Highway 12 in Hyde County on Ocracoke Island.