The highway runs along the boundary between the regions of Northern and Central Michigan through forest land and crosses the Muskegon River en route to Harrison.

The highway continues eastward to a junction with M-30 (Meridian Road) in White Star on the west banks of the Smallwood Lake section of the Tittabawassee River.

The highest traffic level for M-61 in MDOT's 2009 surveys was 9,257 vehicles per day along the Harrison business loop.

[5] No section of M-61 has been added to the National Highway System,[6] a network of roads important to the country's defense, economy and mobility.

[7] On July 1, 1919, when the rest of the state highway system was first signed, M-61 ran between M-18 at Gladwin to M-30 at White Star.

[8][9] This eastern extension was straightened in 1932, bypassing the route south through Winegars and Bentley to use a direct course between White Star and Standish.

At the same time, additional county roads were upgraded to state highways, extending the western M-61 to US 127 in Harrison.