Route 7 is a state highway with its northern terminus at U.S. Route 24 in northeast Independence and its southern terminus at Interstate 44 southeast of Richland (near the town of Laquey which it doesn't quite reach).

From there, it continues northwest to a concurrency with Route 5, starting three miles south of Camdenton.

After crossing the lake, Route 5 enters Greenville, and the highway diverges north, and Route 7 heads west, pass through Climax Springs and Edwards then continues west to another concurrency with US 65.

The combined route crosses Harry S. Truman Reservoir and the Osage River and then enters Warsaw, where the concurrency ends; Route 7 heads west and crosses more arms of the Truman Reservoir.

In the early 1970s with the creation of Truman Lake, the Osage River Bridge was bypassed with a new mile long span.