Aside from the two villages at each end of the route and the hamlet of Nicholville near the midpoint, NY 11B passes through rural, lightly populated areas, as does its parent to the north.

NY 11B was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, but to a completely different routing than it follows today.

[3] NY 11B turns northeast through the town of Stockholm, entering the rural hamlet of Converse.

For a short distance through Converse, NY 11B is surrounded by residences, entering the town of Parishville and soon Hopkinton.

In Hopkinton, NY 11B crosses east through the rural hamlet of Beechertown as a two-lane highway.

Through the hamlet, NY 11B serves as the main commercial street, intersecting with the southern terminus of CR 49 (Fort Jackson–Hopkinton Road).

After this junction, NY 11B turns to the northeast and crosses the St. Regis River, entering a residential community, where CR 55 intersects.

A short distance after, NY 11B crosses into the town of Lawrence, proceeding northeast as a two-lane residential road.

NY 11B continues northeast through Dickinson, passing a local park to the southeast, before intersecting with CR 7 (Gale Road).

NY 11B enters the hamlet of East Dickinson, where it serves as a two-lane residential roadway.

In the village, NY 11B gains the moniker of Franklin Street, becoming a two-lane residential road.

The lone exception was from Potsdam to Lawrenceville, where NY 2 followed a more northerly alignment via Winthrop and North Lawrence.