New York State Route 38

New York State Route 38 (NY 38) is a north–south state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. Its southern terminus is at an intersection with NY 96 in the town of Owego in Tioga County. The northern terminus is at a junction with NY 104A in the town of Sterling in Cayuga County. NY 38 is a two-lane local road for most of its length. The route is the main access road to parts of Auburn, Dryden, Newark Valley and Port Byron. It passes through mountainous terrain in Tioga and Cortland counties, but the terrain levels out as it heads through the Finger Lakes area and Cayuga County.

The route intersects several long-distance highways, including NY 13 in Dryden, U.S. Route 20 (US 20) and NY 5 in Auburn, and NY 31 in Port Byron. It passes over the New York State Thruway (Interstate 90 or I-90) north of Port Byron; however, there is no connection between the two. NY 38 has two suffixed routes. The first, NY 38A is an alternate route of NY 38 between Moravia and Auburn, while the other, NY 38B, is a simple east–west connector in the Southern Tier. While NY 38 runs along the western shore of Owasco Lake, NY 38A travels to Auburn along a routing east of the lake.

NY 38 passes along or near waterbodies for much of its length. From its southern end in Owego to the town of Harford, the route parallels Owego Creek or a branch of said creek. Between Groton and Mentz, it runs along the aforementioned Owasco Lake and its inlet (south of the lake) and outlet (north of the lake). It also comes within 4 miles (6 km) of Lake Ontario at its northern end.

In the 1920s, the portion of NY 38 between Owego and Freeville was designated as New York State Route 42 while the segment from Freeville to Moravia was the southern part of New York State Route 26, a highway that continued north from Moravia to Syracuse. NY 38 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, utilizing all of pre-1930 NY 42, the Freeville–Moravia portion of NY 26, and a previously unnumbered highway north to Sterling. Originally, NY 38 extended south into the village of Owego by way of an overlap with NY 96. It was truncated to its current southern terminus by 1994.

All of NY 38—save for two sections within the city of Auburn—is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). In Auburn, the route is city-maintained to the north and south of where the route meets US 20 and NY 5 in downtown Auburn. The portion of NY 38 that runs between and overlaps with those two routes is state-maintained.

NY 38 begins at an intersection with NY 96 about 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north of the Owego village limits in the town of Owego. The road heads northeastward as a two-lane highway, paralleling Owego Creek as it proceeds along the base of a valley surrounding the waterway. The Tioga County portion of NY 38 passes through mostly rural, forested areas with only small, scattered pockets of development. The route continues toward the hamlet of Flemingville, where the Owego Creek splits into western and eastern branches. NY 38 does not enter the community; instead, it bypasses it to the southeast and follows the eastern branch of Owego Creek into the town of Newark Valley.

The number of homes along the route begins to increase as NY 38 approaches the village of Newark Valley. Just south of the village limits, NY 38 intersects NY 38B, a spur leading to NY 26 in Maine. The route continues into the small village as South Main Street and passes by several blocks of homes and commercial buildings. At Water Street, NY 38 becomes North Main Street; however, from this point north, most of the village is situated on the opposite bank of Owego Creek. As a result, NY 38 continues through the village limits but passes very few buildings before seamlessly exiting the community and entering another rural area.

The route continues on, crossing over Owego Creek and passing the Newark Valley Country Club about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Newark Valley village before entering the town of Berkshire. In Berkshire, NY 38 serves the hamlet of Berkshire, a small community situated directly on the highway. The route continues on through the narrowing creek valley into the town of Richford and the hamlet of the same name, where it meets NY 79 in the community's center. After Richford, the valley continues to narrow for just under 1.5 miles (2.4 km) before reversing course as the route heads into Cortland County and the town of Harford.