It is 3.19 miles (5.13 km) long and runs northwest to southeast in a stairstep pattern, entirely within Malheur County.

OR 453 was established in 2003 as part of Oregon's project to assign route numbers to highways that previously were not assigned, and, as of July 2018, was unsigned.

OR 453 begins at an intersection with OR 454 approximately one mile southeast of Adrian and heads east, south, east, crossing OR 454 again, at the Idaho state line at an intersection with State Line Road.

OR 453 was assigned to the Adrian-Arena Valley Highway in 2003.

The entire route is in Malheur County.