The route covers Lehman Caves Road connecting the town of Baker to Great Basin National Park.

SR 488 begins at a cattle guard on Lehman Caves Road, 0.707 miles (1.138 km) east of the Lehman Caves Visitor Center and main roadway entrance to the developed areas of Great Basin National Park.

[4] However, the state's tourist maps did not show the existence of State Route 74 until 1942—by then, the highway route had been changed to its present-day alignment, meeting then-SR 73 at Baker.

State Route 488 was designated to replace SR 74 on July 1, 1976.

[9] Since its re-designation as SR 488, Lehman Caves Road has not undergone any significant changes.