The route begins at US Highway 59 (US 59) and US 71 in Texarkana (State Line Avenue) and runs east to US 82 in the eastern part of the county.

Highway 296 serves as an arterial street in Texarkana west of US 67, but is decidedly rural in its length east of US 67, passing through sparsely populated wooded areas typical of the Arkansas Timberlands.

The highway continues northeast for approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) before running due east as a section line road.

Now very near the Red River and the Lafayette county line, the highway turns due south and intersects US 82 four miles (6.4 km) northwest of Garland, where it terminates.

[1] On February 22, 1967, the ASHC authorized the AHTD to prepare plans for construction of an interchange between I-30 and Sugar Hill Road in Texarkana.