NM 456 parallels the Cimarron River for its entire length. It does not leave Union County. It is a former routing of U.S. Route 64 (US 64). Seventeen consecutive miles of it are unpaved, as per signs at each end of the unpaved stretch; their main purpose is to warn of potential impassibility in inclement weather. The stretch does have two spots of pavement, nevertheless: one about eight miles (13 km) in from the west, which is only about 100 feet (30 m) long, and one about fourteen miles (23 km) in from the west, which often confuses drivers since it is so near to the end of the advertised length (its pavement lasts about 0.5 miles (0.80 km)).