North of Jasper SR 56 turns east towards Paoli passing through French Lick.

After Vevay SR 56 heads north-northeast toward Aurora passing through intersection with State Road 250, SR 156, and State Road 262, passing through the town of Rising Sun.

The northern terminus SR 56 is at an intersection with U.S. Route 50 and State Road 350.

[3] In the western part of Indiana SR 56 originally followed the same routing at current State Road 64 takes.

[4] East of US 231 in northeastern Dubois County, SR 56 approximates part of the course of the Buffalo Trace (road), a migration route for buffalo that provided a major avenue for travel by Native Americans and Europeans in what is now Southern Indiana.