The state highway runs 1.39 miles (2.24 km) from Markoe Road north to MD 138 near Monkton in northeastern Baltimore County.

Old York Road continues south as a county highway to MD 145 in Jacksonville.

The two-lane undivided state highway heads north through farmland.

MD 562 veers northwest onto Troyer Road as Old York Road continues north as a county highway toward MD 23 in Shawsville.

The state highway reaches its terminus at a T-intersection with MD 138, which continues north as Troyer Road and heads west as Sheppards Road to the hamlet of Monkton.