East of the Clay–Randolph county line, the highway crosses over Lake Wedowee.

The orientation of the route is generally eastward as it travels from Lineville to Wedowee.

At Wedowee, SR 48 intersects US 431 and turns to the northeast, continuing this trajectory as it leads to the Georgia state line.

When the route was formed in 1940, it traveled from Pell City to the Georgia state line east, rather than northeast, of Wedowee.

The old section of SR 48 east of Wedowee is now designated as Randolph County Route 56.