Willow Creek leaves NY 274 a short distance later, heading northwestward toward its source in the adjacent town of Floyd.

Over the next 3 miles (5 km), the route winds its way northward across open terrain and a stretch of marshland before making a sharp turn to the west in the town of Steuben.

[4] The route continues on, traveling across more open fields as it proceeds through the sparsely populated hamlet of Steuben, home to the town's center of government.

At this point, the road heads west into a narrow, winding valley formed by two large hills flanking both sides of the creek.

The route descends in elevation as it follows Big Brook and Wells Creek into a larger valley surrounding the Mohawk River.