Southern segment

SD 11's southern segment begins in the south-central part of Union County, at an intersection with the northern terminus of South Franklin Street in the northwestern part of Elk Point. Here, the roadway continues to the southeast as East Rose Street. Both South Franklin Street and East Rose Street are signed as part of a "city truck route". SD 11 heads to the northwest and almost immediately curves to the north. Just south of 321st Street, it crosses over the Big Ditch. North of 320th Street, it intersects SD 50 west-northwest of Richland. This intersection is the northern terminus of the southern segment of SD 11 and the eastern terminus of County Road 25 (CR 25; 319th Avenue).

Northern segment

SD 11's northern segment begins in the east-central part of Union County, at an intersection with SD 48 east of Spink. Here, the roadway continues to the south as 479th Avenue. It travels to the north and crosses over West Union Creek between 310th and 309th streets. The highway enters Alcester, where it crosses over some railroad tracks of Union Pacific Railroad. It continues to the north. Starting at a point just south of 298th Street, it parallels part of East Brule Creek. Then, it intersects SD 46 (297th Street), where it enters the southeastern part of Lincoln County.

SD 11 travels through Norway Center at 294th Street and continues to the north. It travels through rural areas of the county and crosses over Little Beaver Creek between 285th and 284th streets. It continues northward and intersects U.S. Route 18 (US 18) west of Canton. The two highways begin a concurrency to the west. Here, the roadway continues to the north as 479th Avenue. Approximately 0.465 miles (0.748 km) later, SD 11 splits off to the north, with the roadway continuing to the south as 478th Avenue. Between US 18 and 281st Street, it crosses over some railroad tracks of BNSF Railway. Between 280th and 279th streets, it has a crossing over Beaver Creek. Just south of 277th Street, it crosses over some railroad tracks of BNSF Railway. Between 275th and 274th streets, it crosses over Ninemile Creek. Just north of 273rd Street, the highway passes the Lake Alvin State Recreation Area. Just north of 271st Street, it crosses over Spring Creek. It travels through Shindler and curves to the north-northwest. At an intersection with 57th Street, the highway enters the southeastern part of Minnehaha County and becomes a divided highway.

SD 11 intersects Holly Boulevard and Sylvan Circle in Brandon.

SD 11 skirts along the eastern part of Harmodon Park. It intersects 41st Street, which leads to the park entrance. The highway enters the city limits of Sioux Falls. North of Split Rock Road, the divided highway portion ends. Almost immediately, it intersects SD 42 (Arrowhead Parkway). Here, SD 11 and SD 42 begin a concurrency to the east. They curve to the southeast and pass the Willow Run Golf Course and Arrowhead Park. After curving to the east-southeast, they cross over the Big Sioux River. Less than 2,000 feet (610 m) later, they intersect the northern terminus of CR 142 (481st Avenue). Here, SD 11 splits off to the north. It then curves to the north-northeast. It crosses over Split Rock Creek and then enters Brandon. It travels just to the east of Aspen Park and then crosses over some railroad tracks of Union Pacific Railroad. On the northwestern edge of McHardy Park, SD 11 curves to the north. It passes the Brandon Valley High School between Cedar Street and Holly Boulevard. Just north of the city limits of Brandon is an interchange with Interstate 90 (I-90). The highway travels through Corson and crosses over some railroad tracks of BNSF Railway. It then has a second crossing of Split Rock Creek. Just north of 258th Street is a third crossing of this creek and then a crossing of West Pipestone Creek. Just south of 255th Street is a second crossing of this creek. The highway curves to the east and crosses this creek for a third time, just west of 483rd Avenue. It crosses over Split Rock Creek for a third time, just before entering the southwestern part of Garretson. It curves to the north and passes some sewage disposal ponds before crossing the Split Rock Creek again. Then, the highway leaves Garretson. Just south of 246th Street, the highway begins curving to the north-northeast. It crosses over Pipestone Creek and then curves to the east. At 244th Street, it begins to travel on the Minnehaha–Moody county line for the rest of its length. Just to the east of 486th Avenue, the highway curves to the east-northeast. Approximately 0.7 miles (1.1 km) east of 487th Avenue, the highway reaches the Minnesota state line. Here, SD 11 ends, and the roadway continues as Minnesota State Highway 269 (MN 269).