Starting at US 98 across from the intersection of Fifth Street in Port St. Joe as a four-lane divided highway named Cecil G. Costin Senior Boulevard, the road is within viewing distance of the Gulf of Mexico, where it runs east and west rather than the signed north and south route that it is.

The road maintains the same trajectory until it curves slightly to the left before crossing the Elgin Bayliss Bridge over Searcy Creek in White City, but still continues running northeast nevertheless.

Shortly after the intersections of South Rip Hall Pitts Road and Midway Park Drive, SR 71 crosses the Gulf-Calhoun County Line, where it passes by some random sod farms.

Later the road runs through Sharpstown and curves slightly towards the northwest only to turn back to the same angle it was at before as it crosses a bridge over Coon Creek and enters Flowers Still.

Three to four blocks north of the crossing it encounters the southern terminus of State Road 69, then SR 71 takes a sharp turn to the west.

Beginning at Margaret Street, the road curves to the northwest and eventually meets the same rail trail it encountered earlier.

It is after the intersection with Magnolia Road that SR 71 once again becomes a four-lane divided highway, at which point a series of motels, restaurants, gas stations, travel centers and other accommodations begins to dot the landscape, serving as an indicator that this area is designed primarily for travelers from the nearby Interstate 10 (I-10), and sure enough, SR 71 finally comes to a standard diamond interchange with I-10 at exit 142.

This concurrency is short-lived as it branches to the northeast towards Dellwood, Hornsdale, and Chattahoochee State Park in Alabama, while SR 71 curves north.

Shortly after this the road passes in front of an entrance to the Marianna Municipal Airport, which is also shared by a fire house for Jackson County Fire-Rescue, and the Sunland Training Center.

North of the Malone town limits, State Road 71 curves to the northwest as it passes by the Jackson County Correctional Institution.

After the prison grounds it runs mostly through farmland and passes five more rural intersections before encountering another wetland area named Jordan Bay.

It is a dead end street known as "Library Road" which runs south from SR 71 across from the intersection with Avenue A east of Port St. Joe between the two railroad crossings.