It runs south from State Highway 32 to Burneyville, curves west and turns into Burneyville Road.

State Highway 96 begins along Burneyville Road, which it follows for two miles (3.2 km).

The road then turns north, crossing over Simon Creek, before coming to an end at SH-32 at Dunbar, an unincorporated place.

The roadbed continues north as Eastman Road.

[3] SH-96 serves the Burneyville area, which includes the Falconhead Resort & Country Club, a former PGA Tour golf course,[4] and the Red River Research and Demonstration Farm, an agricultural research operation run by the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.