The eastern terminus of the highway is at an intersection with US 231 and Blount County Route 1 (CR 1) in Cleveland.

Between Pine View Drive and Tumblin Road, it leaves Smoke Rise proper and again travels along the southern edge of it.

Just after crossing over Double Branch, the highway leaves Smoke Rise and travels through rural areas of the county.

Upon crossing Pannel Creek, it curves to the northeast and intersects the southern terminus of Blount CR 9.

After intersecting the northern terminus of Blount CR 13, the highway curves to the east-northeast and enters Nectar.

Right after leaving the city limits of Nectar, SR 160 crosses over the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River.

Until the late 1990s, the path of SR 160 between Hayden and Cleveland traveled through a largely rural area of the county.

Due to increased traffic, and the fact that the highway is still a narrow two-lane through winding, hilly country, there has been an increase in deadly auto accidents along this roadway including an accident on November 29, 2007, which took the lives of three Hayden High School cheerleaders – senior, Courtney Nicely, and sophomores, Whitney Bradford and Sarah Casey.

Two years later, on September 19, 2009, Kimberly "Kimmi" Jones Colley was hit head-on, and died two weeks later.