It heads east towards Woodstock, entering the town after 0.9 miles (1.4 km) and becoming Red White School Road.

Route 197 continues northeast another 0.3 miles (0.48 km) to an oblique crossing of the Massachusetts state line.

[1] The state line crossing is a short distance east of the southern terminus of Massachusetts Route 31.

The two-lane highway heads northeast as Main Street through the town of Dudley and passes to the south of Nichols College.

In 1941, the western end was truncated to a point in Ashford 1.34 miles (2.16 km) west of Route 89.