The route runs 14.87 miles (23.93 km) from Arkansas Highway 12 at Vaughn north to the Missouri state line through Centerton.

[2] The route has a rare officially designated exception of 0.52 miles (0.84 km), overlapping Arkansas Highway 72.

These routes form a concurrency west until the Centerton city limits, when AR 279 turns north.

These routes briefly overlap in what the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department calls an officially designated exception for 0.52 miles (0.84 km).

The route continues north, winding through Bella Vista as Forest Hills Boulevard, serving as the western terminus for Lancashire Blvd in central Bella Vista.