Bathurst-Ilford Road commences at the intersection with Castlereagh Highway in Ilford and heads in a south-westerly direction, eventually crossing the Turon River and passing the historic town of Sofala.

It then continues in a southerly direction and passes through Wattle Flat and Peel, before eventually ending at the intersection with Great Western Highway in Kelso, just east of Bathurst, which itself acts as a major highway hub with the Great Western, Mid-Western Highway and Mitchell Highways – and O'Connell Road to Oberon – meet.

It is fully sealed over its entire length, but many road maps still show sections of it as unsealed.

In conjunction with Bylong Valley Way from Castlereagh Highway near Ilford to Golden Highway near Sandy Hollow, this very quiet and scenic route provides a leisurely alternative to going through Sydney to travel between the Hunter Region and Bathurst.

The passing of the Roads Act of 1993[5] through the Parliament of New South Wales updated road classifications and the way they could be declared within New South Wales.