The southern terminus is at the state line in the Chemung County town of Ashland, where it continues south as Pennsylvania Route 14 (PA 14).

NY 14 was assigned in 1924 to an alignment extending from Elmira to Sodus Point via Watkins Glen, Penn Yan, and Geneva.

It was extended south to Pennsylvania by 1926 and realigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York to follow its modern routing alongside Seneca Lake between Watkins Glen and Geneva.

As NY 14, the road heads northwestward through the valley, traversing isolated and sparsely populated areas of the town of Southport.

It proceeds to the southern outskirts of the city of Elmira, where it crosses Seeley Creek and intersects the northern terminus of NY 328.

The route follows the northern bank of Seeley Creek for roughly 1 mile (1.6 km) to an intersection with Cedar Street,[citation needed] which carries NY 427 east of this point.

[citation needed] In the southern half of Elmira, the parkway winds its way through residential and commercial areas before crossing over the Chemung River to reach the city's downtown district.

The route continues on, traversing commercial and industrial neighborhoods on the fringe of downtown on its way to a junction with Thurston Street.

At this point, NY 14 leaves the parkway to follow Thurston Street and Woodlawn Avenue—collectively one two-lane street—west for three blocks to College Avenue.

The route turns again here, following College Avenue north past Eldridge Park to the adjacent village of Elmira Heights.

North of here, it follows Westinghouse Road through the village until it reaches a T-intersection with Main Street near an area known locally as the Holding Point.

It continues north along the lakeshore, providing access to several lakeside homes and communities at the east end of local roads leading to and from NY 14.

The route itself continues across farmland, however, as it passes into Yates County about 3 miles (5 km) north of the NY 14A junction through the Town of Starkey.

[citation needed] At Himrod, the FGLK connects to the Norfolk Southern Railway's Corning Secondary, which leaves the hamlet to the north and slowly converges on NY 14.

[citation needed] Outside of Geneva, the Corning Secondary rejoins NY 14, which closely follows the route for much of the next 7 miles (11 km).

North of the Thruway, NY 14 loosely follows the outlet of Canandaigua Lake through rural, isolated areas as it proceeds toward the Wayne County line.

[citation needed] NY 14, however, continues on a northerly track as it enters Wayne County and Lyons, becoming Geneva Street upon crossing into the latter.

The route continues on, crossing over the Erie Canal and passing through the halet's major commercial and residential areas on Geneva and Phelps streets before exiting Lyons.

Another 10 miles (16 km) of rolling, open terrain brings the highway to the town of Sodus, where it intersects NY 104 south of the hamlet of Alton.

[6] This stretch of NY 14 heads due north across cultivated fields for 2 miles (3.2 km) before curving to the northwest to avoid Sodus Bay.

It reaches the water's edge as it enters Sodus Point, where it initially follows South Fitzhugh Street.

[11][12] The original alignment of NY 14 through Elmira took the designation along Broadway and Fulton, Hudson, Main, Water, and Lake streets.

[24] An extension of the highway north to Grand Central Avenue was completed by 1990[26] while another south to Cedar Street (NY 427) was opened to traffic c. 1999.