K-5 begins on Sunshine Road at US-69 just south of the US 69 Missouri River Bridge.

After heading north on 97th Street, and turning onto Hutton Road, it then follows Wolcott Drive towards Lansing.

Inside the Lansing area, it turns onto 8th Street, then onto Muncie Drive in Leavenworth.

In 2015, The Kansas state legislature passed Statute 68-1038, which designation the portion of K-5 between US-73/K-7 to I-435, then from I-435 to US-69, and southward on US-69 to the Oklahoma border, as the Frontier Military Scenic Byway.

However, the plan was never carried out and the highway segment between I-635 and US-69 in the northern area of Kansas City was to be designated as K-6.