State Route 2 is an east–west highway crossing most of northern Ohio. Its western terminus is at the Indiana state line near Hicksville where the route becomes Indiana State Road 37 which continues to Fort Wayne, Indiana. The eastern terminus of the route is in Painesville Township in Lake County at U.S. Route 20.

It passes through Bryan, Wauseon, and enters greater Toledo west of its interchange with the Ohio Turnpike. It continues east from greater Toledo and soon parallels Lake Erie, becoming a freeway near Port Clinton. From Oregon to Sandusky SR 2 is part of 293 miles (472 km) of the highway designated the "Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail". and on September 22, 2005 was designated a National Scenic Byway From Toledo to Sandusky the highway is also part of and designated the "Lake Erie circle Trail" that is also part of the 6,500-mile (10,500 km) "Great Lakes Circle. It then passes Sandusky, where it meets U.S. Route 250 and U.S. Route 6, and separates from the lakeshore as a freeway. Near Elyria, it feeds into Interstate 90, whose route it shares to Rocky River, where it follows State Route 254 along Detroit Road into Lakewood. Here it again joins U.S. 6, as well as U.S. Route 20 on Clifton Blvd. It then becomes part of the Cleveland Memorial Shoreway in Cleveland, picking up I-90 again near Burke Lakefront Airport. These two highways split near Euclid, and State Route 2 continues along the Lakeland Freeway to Painesville, feeding into U.S. 20 eastbound. State Route 2 serves as an access route to lakeshore attractions on Lake Erie from Toledo and Cleveland and as an alternative to the Ohio Turnpike.

The stretch of SR 2 from Toledo to Sandusky offers a multitude of attractions. Travelers, vacationers and visitors have a wide range of year round activities to choose from. The Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is just east of SR 19 in the Carroll Township. It sits on 733 acres along with the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station that utilizes 221 acres.

SR 2 is the lowest numbered state route in Ohio. Ohio State Route 1 was decommissioned in 1965.

The section of State Route 2 that runs through Erie County is called the "Jackie Mayer Miss America Highway" and is named for Jackie Mayer, a former Miss America who was born and raised in Sandusky.

The section of State Route 2 that runs through Willoughby is named "Brian Montgomery Memorial Highway" in honor of a Marine Lance Corporal that was killed in the Iraq War in August 2005.

State Route 2C is a connecting road that runs from State Route 163 to State Route 2 and State Route 53 near Port Clinton in Ottawa County, Ohio. State Route 2C was constructed as an access road for the SR2–SR163 interchange.