New York State Route 488 - Route Description

Route Description

NY 488 begins at an intersection with NY 21 in the hamlet of Chapin, a small community within the Ontario County town of Hopewell. The highway progresses eastward, crossing the Finger Lakes Railway at a grade crossing less than 100 yards (91 m) from NY 21. Just past the railroad, the route makes a slight turn to the northeast for 0.25 miles (0.40 km) before curving back to the east and continuing across open farmland. As NY 488 crosses the town of Hopewell, it serves a handful of isolated homes and intersects several north–south highways of local importance, including County Road 47 (CR 47). The route continues eastward into the town of Phelps, where it serves a pair of large farms on its way to the small hamlet of Orleans, located on both the western bank of Flint Creek and the right-of-way of the now-defunct Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).

In the western portion of Orleans, NY 488 intersects with the north–south CR 20, which leads to most of the hamlet's residences. NY 488, meanwhile, bypasses most of the community to the northwest as it makes a gradual turn to the north to follow Flint Creek and the old PRR right-of-way toward the village of Phelps. Outside of Orleans, the route reenters mostly rural surroundings as it approaches a junction with CR 43. While CR 43 heads north toward Clifton Springs, NY 488 turns to the northeast, following the creek and the old rail bed past the large reservoir serving the village of Newark. At an intersection with Trimble and Griffith Roads, the highway turns back to the north, matching a similar curve in the creek's routing. NY 488 continues on, crossing the former right-of-way of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and passing Midlakes High School on an otherwise nondescript stretch before ending at an intersection with NY 96 west of the village of Phelps.