The highway begins at exit 61 of the Southern Tier Expressway, I-86/NY 17, where PA 199 crosses into New York state, and Tioga County, on Cayuta Avenue in Waverly.

The highway is close to the lake shore itself for an approximately two mile stretch prior to the hill.

Easily seen is the West and East Dormitory Towers of Ithaca College, located on NY 96B.

Within downtown Auburn, NY 34 passes by the Harriet Tubman Home and the William Seward House.

From Auburn, NY 34 continues north to Weedsport, where the route meets the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90 or I-90) at exit 40.

In 1908, the New York State Legislature created a statewide system of unsigned legislative routes.

The portion of what is now NY 34 from Van Etten to Ithaca was included in Route 9, which originally began in Horseheads and went generally northeast across central New York to Bouckville.

[2][3] NY 34 was extended south to the Pennsylvania state line in the early 1970s following the completion of the Southern Tier Expressway through Waverly.

[13] Initially, NY 34 veered east on Ira Hill East and North Roads and on Oswego County's County Route 21 (CR 21) to serve Hannibal Center;[11][14] however, it was moved onto its current alignment between Cato and Hannibal by 1977.

By 1948, NY 34 was shifted westward to follow Albany, Court, and Cayuga Streets through downtown.

[18] In the early 1960s, a new expressway was built along the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake, bypassing downtown Ithaca on the west and north.

[19][20] NY 34 was altered to follow Meadow Street and the freeway between southwestern Ithaca and its original alignment on East Shore Drive north of the city.