 MD 165 heads north as a two-lane undivided road that meets the eastern end of MD 145 (Sweet Air Road) before curving east to cross Little Gunpowder Falls into Harford County.The state highway passes through a mix of farms and forests on its way to the hamlet of Upper Crossroads in Fallston, where the state highway intersects MD 152 (Fallston Road).MD 165 crosses the West Branch of Winters Run, passes through the hamlet of Putnam, and intersects the western end of East–West Highway, which carries MD 23, just south of Jarrettsville.