SR 6 begins at US 250 (Rockfish Gap Turnpike) on the slope of Afton Mountain, the local name for this section of the Blue Ridge Mountains, about east of Rockfish Gap. The state highway heads south as Afton Mountain Road, which descends the mountain curvaceously and passes through the village of Afton, where the highway crosses over a CSX rail line. At the bottom of the descent, SR 6 meets SR 151 (Critzers Shop Road) in the village of Avon. The two highways head south as Rockfish Valley Highway through the namesake valley. Just south of Greenfield, SR 6 leaves SR 151 and heads east as River Road, which follows the Rockfish River through a mountainous area south to US 29 (Thomas Nelson Highway). SR 6 heads east along the four-lane divided highway between several mountains before splitting to the southeast as Irish Road. The state highway crosses over Norfolk Southern Railway's Washington District in Faber and enters Albemarle County at a gap between Shiloh Mountain and Butler Mountain.