The road allows traffic from the Saugerties area, particularly from the New York State Thruway, to directly reach the interior of the Greene County portion of Catskill Park.

The road soon begins to run along the south side of Kaaterskill Creek, and NY 32A follows the stream across the nearby Ulster–Greene county line and into the hamlet of Palenville.

After several blocks, NY 32A briefly turns northward to cross the creek and reach Palenville's small central business district.

Here, the route passes Palenville's fire department before ending at a signalized intersection with NY 23A across from the National Register of Historic Places-listed Rowena Memorial School.

[5][6] In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, the road became part of the new NY 32,[7][8] which initially had a gap in the route between Palenville and Cairo.