SR 238 begins at an oblique intersection with US 60 (Warwick Boulevard) in the Lee Hall area of the independent city of Newport News.

The state highway heads north as two-lane undivided Yorktown Road and immediately has a grade crossing of CSX's Peninsula Subdivision.

The state highway gradually curves to the east as it follows the edge of Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, whose main entrance is in the community of Lackey.

[1][2] East of Lackey, SR 238 enters Colonial National Historical Park, where the highway passes through a forested area with scattered residential subdivisions.

SR 238 reaches its eastern terminus just beyond Nelson Road at the entrance to United States Coast Guard Training Center – Yorktown.