The highway extends 15.945 miles (25.661 km) from the Arizona state line at Tse Bonito, where the road continues west as Arizona State Route 264 (AZ 264), east to U.S. Route 491 (US 491) at Yah-ta-hey.

NM 264 connects the Navajo Nation capital of Window Rock immediately west of the state line with US 491 north of Gallup in western McKinley County.

NM 264 begins at the Arizona–New Mexico state line just northwest of the unincorporated village of Tse Bonito.

The highway continues west as AZ 264 into Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation.

NM 264 begins within the main body of the Navajo Nation but heads southeast out of the Native American reservation and passes through Tse Bonito.