Most of the parkway is located in either Harriman or Bear Mountain state parks, except for a small stretch near its southern end.

The remaining 17.15 miles (27.60 km) is owned by PIPC and maintained by NYSDOT as New York State Route 987E (NY 987E).

The road loosely parallels Stony Brook as it heads deeper into the park and serves the Reeves Meadow Visitor Center.

[3] Continuing on, Seven Lakes Drive begins to parallel the White Bar Trail as both head to the northeast through the rugged, forested terrain of the park.

Eventually, the White Bar Trail splits from the parkway and proceeds to the north while Seven Lakes Drive remains on a generally northeasterly track.

The parkway runs along the southeastern shore of Lake Sebago for just over 1 mile (1.6 km), passing a lakeside parking area and a ski trail.

The Silver Mine Ski Road, a trail paralleling most of the lake, meets the parkway at the eastern lakeshore.

Here, Seven Lakes Drive directly intersects US 6 and indirectly connects to the nearby Palisades Interstate Parkway (PIP) by way of ramps leading away from the circle.

At the southeastern edge of Bear Mountain, Seven Lakes Drive begins to descend a series of switchbacks as it enters the Hudson River valley.

[9][10] At its south end, the parkway connected to Johnstown Road,[11] which continued southwest to Sloatsburg[12] and northeast to Lake Welch.

[5] In 1960, the state of New York made plans to construct a 7-mile (11 km) extension of Seven Lakes Drive leading southwest from Kanawauke Circle to Sloatsburg.

Most of what was originally Stony Brook Drive was dismantled as part of the route's construction;[15][18] however, a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) section near Sloatsburg was left intact and renamed Johnsontown Road.