Hopkins Highway commences at the intersection with Hamilton Highway on the western edge of Mortlake and runs in a south-westerly direction as a dual-lane, single-carriageway road, mostly following the course of Hopkins River, crossing it in Ellerslie.

It eventually terminates at the intersection with Princes Highway in the centre of Warrnambool.

[2] The passing of the Transport Act of 1983[5] (itself an evolution from the original Highways and Vehicles Act of 1924[6]) provided for the declaration of State Highways, roads two-thirds financed by the State government through the Road Construction Authority (later VicRoads).

Hopkins Highway was declared a State Highway in December 1990,[3] from Mortlake to Warrnambool, subsuming the original declaration of Mortlake-Warrnambool Road as a Main Road.

The passing of the Road Management Act 2004[7] granted the responsibility of overall management and development of Victoria's major arterial roads to VicRoads: in 2004, VicRoads re-declared the road as Hopkins Highway (Arterial #6010) between Hamilton Highway in Mortlake and Princes Highway at Warrnambool.