Hwy 271 begins within
Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park at the main parking lot for the
Fort Walsh National Historic Site, heading northeast for a few kilometres before making a sharp right at an intersection with Ranger Station Road. The highway now winds its way down a mountain pass out of the Cypress Hills via sharp switchbacks, leaving the park and making a left at the junction with
Hwy 615. It heads northeast through remote prairie lands for the next several kilometres, crossing a few small creeks before becoming
concurrent (overlapped) with eastbound
Hwy 724, with the pair heading due east to enter the town of
Maple Creek along 5th Avenue, with Hwy 271 coming to an end at the junction with
Hwy 21 just past the local hospital, with Hwy 724 continuing east through neighbourhoods along 5th Avenue. The entire length of Hwy 271 is a paved, two-lane highway, and is located within the
Rural Municipality of Maple Creek No. 111. ==Major intersections==