Known as Bushwood Wharf Road, the state highway runs 1.64 miles (2.64 km) from a dead end at the Wicomico River east to MD 242 near Bushwood in western St. Mary's County.

MD 239 begins at a dead end next to a boat ramp on Bushwood Cove of the Wicomico River at a spot historically known as Bushwood Wharf.

The state highway heads east as a 18-foot (5.5 m) two-lane undivided road past the historic home Ocean Hall located to the south.

At Bushwood Road, MD 239 curves to the southeast, passing through farmland and crossing Whites Neck Creek before intersecting the northern terminus of MD 520 (Whites Neck Road).

[3] The state highway was built from MD 242 to Bushwood Road in 1927 and to the western terminus on the Wicomico River in 1928.