The two-lane undivided highway heads north and parallels the Chestertown Branch of the Northern Line of the Maryland and Delaware Railroad north of Mary Morris Road.

The highway continues to its northern terminus at MD 298 (Lambs Meadow Road) just west of Kent County High School in the hamlet of Butlertown.

The highway continues on the opposite side of MD 298 as county-maintained Smithville Road.

[5] Smithville Road was improved and transferred to the state highway system from Butlertown through Smithtown to the village of Newtown in 1942.

[7][8][9] The Butlertown–Newtown portion of MD 297 was resurfaced with bituminous concrete in 1982; that section was transferred from state to county maintenance through a June 1, 1993, road transfer agreement.