It started south of the park and ran north between two lakes in the area and through the community of Interlochen to US Highway 31 (US 31) in Grand Traverse County.

Jurisdiction of the roadway was transferred from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to the Grand Traverse County Road Commission in June 2020, and the highway designation was decommissioned in the process; signage was removed by August 2020 to reflect the changeover.

North of the school, the highway passed through a wooded section before entering the community of Interlochen itself near the Green Lake Township Hall.

[7] No section of M-137 had been listed on the National Highway System,[8] a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.

[10][11] The former route through the campus of the Interlochen Center for the Arts was abandoned as a roadway on March 26, 1956, after M-137 was realigned to pass to the east of the school and extended further south through the state park area.