From Highway 400, the route travels straight east to Orrville, where it turns north onto Star Lake Road.

The route zig-zags through rugged Canadian Shield and thick forests, generally arching northeast until meeting the Nipissing Colonization Road north of the ghost town of Seguin Falls.

The highway crosses the Seguin Trail, turns east and parallels it through Bear Lake, Whitehall and Sprucedale.

[3] The highway was extended east from Kearney to Sand Lake in 1963, increasing its length to 90 km (56 mi).

[8][9] Its route remained unchanged between then and January 1, 1998, when the easternmost 15.1 kilometres (9.4 mi) were decommissioned, returning the eastern terminus to the boundary into Kearney.