It begins at Yellowhead Trail (Highway 16) in Edmonton as 97 Street NW, running through the city's north suburbs before entering Sturgeon County and passing CFB Edmonton.

After merging with Highway 28A near Gibbons it winds through agricultural lands of north-central Alberta, roughly paralleling the North Saskatchewan River until Smoky Lake before continuing east through St. Paul County to Bonnyville.

Between Highway 28A near Gibbons and the intersection with Highway 63 near Radway, it forms part of the Edmonton-Fort McMurray corridor and is designated as a core route.

[4] Highway 28 was built in 1961, connecting Alberta's Lakeland to Edmonton by gravel road for the first time.

It began at Highway 28, approximately 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Cold Lake, and travelled to the Saskatchewan boundary where it continued east as Saskatchewan Highway 55.