CR 551 begins at an intersection with Route 49 in Pennsville Township, Salem County, heading north on two-lane undivided Hook Road.

Following this intersection, the road heads into a mix of farmland and woodland with a few homes, entering Oldmans Township at the CR 641 junction.

The route crosses the Racoon Creek back into Woolwich Township and intersects CR 653 before passing a mix of farms and development as it comes to US 322/CR 536.

The route crosses the Southern Railroad of New Jersey's Salem Branch before passing more homes in the community of Mount Royal, where there is an intersection with CR 678.

[1][2] Here, CR 551 forms a concurrency with four-lane Route 45 and heads north-northeast on Broad Street through the downtown of Woodbury.

CR 551 splits from Route 45 by heading east on Park Avenue, crossing the Conrail Shared Assets Operations' Vineland Secondary before turning north on Broadway, entering Deptford Township.

Past I-295, the route continues into Westville and passes through more urban areas of homes and businesses as a two-lane undivided road.

CR 551 continues north into the commercial downtown of Camden and crosses Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and NJ Transit's River Line at NJ Transit's Walter Rand Transportation Center and the PATCO Speedline's Broadway station.

CR 551 comes to its northern terminus at an interchange with I-676/US 30 near the toll plaza on the eastern approach of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge to Philadelphia.

[1][2] In 1681, the West Jersey legislature approved the laying out of a road from Amboy to Salem through Bordentown, Burlington, Mount Holly, Moorestown, and Haddonfield, along an old Lenape trail.

On the evening of August 29, 2024, National Hockey League player Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were struck and killed while they were cycling on CR 551 in Oldmans Township, New Jersey.

The road travels through the following municipalities (from south to north): Major intersections The entire route is in Camden County.