SR 263 begins at the eastern end of Shrine Mont Circle, a loop that is designated SR 659 and serves Shrine Mont, an
Episcopal Diocese of Virginia retreat that hosts the annual
Shenandoah Valley Music Festival. The state highway heads northeast as a two-lane undivided road from Orkney Springs through a narrow valley between
Great North Mountain to the west and Supin Lick Mountain to the east. After passing the
Bryce Resort, SR 263 veers southeast and crosses the latter mountain and follows Straight Run through a gap in Timber Ridge to enter the
Shenandoah Valley, on the west edge of which the state highway intersects
SR 42 (Senedo Road). The state highway passes through
Mount Clifton and follows Mill Creek to the town of Mount Jackson, which the highway enters at its underpass of
Interstate 81. SR 263 passes under the
Chesapeake Western Railway before reaching its eastern terminus at US 11 (Main Street). ==Major intersections==