Its southern terminus is at SR 160 a mile north of Wilkesville, and its northern terminus is at SR 32 about 6 miles (9.7 km) southwest of Albany.

SR 689 passes through two counties along its path, Vinton and Meigs.

[2] SR 689 first appeared in 1937 along the routing that it currently occupies.

In the early 1970s, the construction of the Appalachian Highway (originally numbered SR 346 at its completion, later renumbered to SR 32) truncated the highway very slightly at its northern terminus.

[5][6] No other major changes have occurred to the routing since then.