Typically, each series consists of county routes along a single roadway, often overlapping with state highways in the process.

[1] The Barryville to Claryville series encompasses routes 11 through 17 and CR 19, the non-suffixed of which form a mostly continuous roadway between the two communities.

The Pond Eddy–Monticello roadway begins at NY 97 in Pond Eddy and progresses north as CR 41 through CR 45, from south to north, to a terminus at NY 42 south of Monticello.

The route itself does not connect to any other route in the Pond Eddy-Monticello series; however, the unnumbered Mohican Lake Road continues east from the eastern terminus of CR 47 to intersect CR 42 near Glen Spey.

In Ulster County, the road continues as the short CR 80, terminating at US 209 in Spring Glen.

It heads northeast from the village as Burlingham Road to the Ulster County line.

The Narrowsburg–Cochecton series comprises routes 111 through 117, which collectively form the shape of a backward "C" between the hamlets of Narrowsburg and Cochecton.

The Hortonville–Roscoe series comprises routes 121 through 128 and connects NY 17B at Hortonville (near Callicoon) to the Quickway at Roscoe.

Unlike the other, lower numbered series, routes 131 to 134 only loosely connect the two locations, using parts of other roads to do so.

CR 134 begins at a junction with NY 97 about 3 miles (4.8 km) to the north and heads northeast through Basket to the Delaware County line.

In between, the route serves Liberty, Monticello, and Wurtsboro via locally maintained highways as the county designations end at the village limits.

The series parallels the NY 17 expressway for its entire length and also runs along the southern boundary of Catskill Park from Livingston Manor to the Delaware County line.

[4][5] Construction began in the early 1950s on a new limited-access alignment for NY 17 through Sullivan County.

[10] The highway was extended north to Livingston Manor (exit 96) by 1964[11] and completed through Sullivan County by 1968.