It runs in a generally northeast direction for 14.05 miles (22.61 km) from an interchange with Interstate 690 (I-690) in the city of Syracuse to a roundabout intersection with NY 31 near the shores of Oneida Lake.

Most of NY 298 is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT); however, one section in Syracuse—from the junction of Bear Street and Genant Drive to the eastern city line—is city-maintained.

The route leaves Bear Street here to follow a southeastward track on Genant Drive and Sunset Avenue, which form a one-way couplet in the vicinity of I-81.

From here, NY 298 heads northeast, losing the Court Street name as it passes under the CSX Transportation-owned Mohawk Subdivision and crosses into the town of DeWitt.

East of the circle, NY 298 turns northward on a long arc, serving a handful of smaller industrial parks before crossing over the Thruway as Kinne Street.

[citation needed] The suburbs slowly begin to taper off north of the Thruway, where NY 298 becomes Collamer Road after Kinne Street leaves at a northeastern turn in the route.

It narrows back into a two-lane undivided highway and proceeds through the pockets of residential and commercial development that comprise the hamlet of Collamer on its way to an interchange with I-481 at exit 92.

After the I-481 junction, it heads east yet slightly northwards into the town of Manlius, where the dense commercial and residential areas give way to more rural regions with only a handful of homes.