The highway has intersections with PTH 67 (Fort Garry Road), PTH 17, and PR 225 as it bypasses Selkirk, Petersfield, and Dunnottar a few kilometers to the west, where it crosses Netley Creek at the hamlet of Netley and begins paralleling the western coastline of Lake Winnipeg.

PTH 8 goes through a switchback near Melnice before entering the Rural Municipality of Gimli at an intersection with PR 229 near Winnipeg Beach.

PTH 8 has an intersection with PR 519 near Sandy Hook and crosses Willow Creek near Husavik before traveling through the town of Gimli, where it passes just to the east of former RCAF Station Gimli and has an intersection with PR 231 (which connects to the northern end of PTH 9).

The highway bypasses several beach communities as it has an intersection with PR 324 and crosses into the Municipality of Bifrost - Riverton.

Provincial Road 324 (PR 324), also known as Camp Morton Road, is a short 1.6-kilometre-long (0.99 mi) east-west spur of PTH 8 in the Rural Municipality of Gimli, connecting it to Camp Morton Provincial Park (as well as the community of the same name) and PR 222.