The route runs 42.44 miles (68.30 km) from Arkansas Highway 5 in Calico Rock east and south to Poughkeepsie.

[2] AR 56 begins in Calico Rock at Arkansas Highway 5, running north to Pineville.

[3] The route continues to run east through rural country to meet AR 9 in Brockwell near the historic Pine Ridge School Building and AR 289 in Franklin south of Horseshoe Bend.

[4] The route ran from Calico Rock to Ash Flat, terminating at AR 11.

The Evening Shade – Poughkeepsie segment was added to the state highway system in 1965 as an unpaved route, which was paved in 1986.