It is a six- to eight-lane principal arterial road extending from downtown Calgary to the south of the city, where it merges into Highway 2.

South of Anderson Road, Macleod Trail is an expressway and is slated to be upgraded to a freeway in the future.

[3] Beginning as a one-way street for northbound traffic (with southbound traffic following 1st Street SE one block to the west), the road passes by Calgary City Hall, Olympic Plaza, the building that housed the former Calgary Central Library, and the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts.

The southern leg of the C-Train LRT system (Route 201) is also developed along Macleod Trail.

In November 2007, Calgary City Council approved a functional planning study for the portion of Macleod Trail that extends from Anderson Road north to Downtown.