Germantown Pike passes through a mix of farm fields and wooded residential areas, heading to the south of Methacton High School.

The road turns to the southeast and passes through wooded suburban neighborhoods before coming to an intersection with Pennsylvania Route 363 (PA 363) in a commercial area in the community of Fairview Village.

Germantown Pike continues through a mix of residential and commercial development as it descends a hill and gains a second westbound lane.

The road loses the center turn lane heads into residential areas with some commercial establishments, crossing CSX's Stony Creek Branch railroad line at-grade.

Germantown Pike becomes a four-lane divided highway and passes businesses, crossing Swede Road in the community of Penn Square.

Germantown Pike turns into a five-lane road with a center left-turn lane and heads south through commercial areas.

The road turns southeast and comes to an offset junction with Butler Pike in the community of Plymouth Meeting.

Germantown Pike makes a turn to the east at the Church Road intersection and heads through wooded residential areas, crossing into Springfield Township and curving southeast after passing south of a golf course.

Germantown Avenue curves east and continues through wooded areas, passing to the south of Morris Arboretum.

Germantown Avenue runs through wooded residential areas and passes to the southwest of Chestnut Hill Hospital.

The road heads into the downtown area of Chestnut Hill and passes south of SEPTA's Chestnut Hill Bus Loop, where Germantown Avenue becomes surfaced with sett and the unused tracks of SEPTA's former Route 23 trolley (now a bus route) begin to follow the road.

From here, the sett surface ends and road heads into the Nicetown–Tioga neighborhood, passing urban areas of homes and businesses and crossing under US 1 (Roosevelt Expressway).

From here, Germantown Avenue becomes a city street that runs south-southeast through urban areas of homes and businesses, passing to the east of Temple University Hospital and intersecting the southern terminus of Old York Road.

The road passes under Amtrak's Northeast Corridor railroad line and heads into the Fairhill neighborhood, where it curves to the south.

Germantown Avenue turns to the southeast and the former Route 23 trolley tracks split to the south to follow 10th and 11th streets.