The road passes through the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, connecting SR 62 in Yucca Valley to Interstate 15 (I-15) in Barstow.

[3] However, continuing straight on Old Woman Springs Road, instead of turning right at this intersection, leads to SR 18, heading west by northwest to Apple Valley and Victorville.

[13] Parts of the SR 247 roadway buckled in the Landers earthquake of 1992, and 10 miles (16 km) of the highway was closed while repairs took place.

[14][15] In 2001, Caltrans indicated that most of the highway was considered "maintain only" until 2020, except for the portions in Yucca Valley and Barstow, which were to be widened to six lanes.

[16] Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage.