The route begins heading east from the intersection at 4700 West (SR-134) as a two-lane highway in a relatively rural part of Weber County.

It traverses scenic, remote areas of the Wasatch Range and this portion between Huntsville and Woodruff is closed during winter.

[5] The portion north from Woodruff to Randolph became part of a different highway (now SR-16) in 1921,[6] and in 1927 the legislature defined the Ogden-Woodruff road as SR-39.

State Route 205 was created in 1963, following 12th Street from SR-1 east to Harrison Boulevard, in exchange for giving SR-183A to the city.

[8] One year later, SR-39 was realigned to replace SR-205, continuing east on a new roadway from 12th Street and Harrison Boulevard to the canyon.