Snake Pass runs through the National Trust's High Peak Estate, and lies within the High Peak borough of Derbyshire; much of it falls within the Hope Woodlands parish, the remainder being within the Charlesworth parish. It is part of the shortest route by road from Manchester to Sheffield.
The pass starts east of Glossop and climbs to the Pennines watershed between the moorland plateaux of Kinder Scout and Bleaklow to a high point of 1,680 feet (510 m) above sea level, where it crosses the Pennine Way. After this, it passes a public house that used to be known as the Snake Inn, and descends through forest to the Ladybower Reservoir at Ashopton.
The name of the road matches its winding route, but actually derives from the emblem of the Snake Inn, one of the few buildings on the high stretch of road. In turn, the pub's name and sign were derived from the serpent on the Cavendish arms of William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire. In the early 21st century, the inn was renamed the Snake Pass Inn, such that the inn now refers to the road that referred to itself.
An ancient road between Glossop and Ashopton was the Doctor's Gate, which follows the Shelf Brook between Shelf Moor and Coldharbour Moor. It is marked on some maps as a Roman road, though this is disputed. The route is now popular with walkers and mountain bikers. In 1932, an Iron Age axe thought to be more than 2,000 years old was found near the site of this road.

The current road further south was designed as a toll road by Thomas Telford to improve communications east of Glossop, which was expanding as an industrial town. It was originally called the Sheffield to Glossop Turnpike and run by a turnpike trust, the Sheffield and Glossop Trust. An act of parliament to build the road was passed in 1818,[a] and construction was financed by the Duke of Norfolk and the Duke of Devonshire. The road opened in 1821,[10] having cost £18,625 to build (equivalent to £1.6 million in 2019). Upon opening, it was the highest turnpike road in England.[18] The road was immediately popular and increased toll collections of traffic heading to Glossop. Tolls were abolished on the road in June 1870.

The eastern end of the pass is by the River Derwent. The river is bridged by the Ashopton Viaduct, built as part of the Ladybower Reservoir project between 1935 and 1945.[21]

Although Snake Pass is still the shortest route between Manchester and Sheffield, the more northerly Woodhead Pass, which is less steep and at a lower altitude, is now the primary road link between the two cities. Unlike Snake Pass, the Woodhead route is a trunk road. Traffic levels on both passes remained similar until the 1980s, but the Woodhead Pass route is now favoured as it connects directly to the M1, while Snake Pass leads into the centre of Sheffield.

Despite Sheffield and Manchester being among the largest UK cities by population, there is no direct motorway link between the two. The M67 was originally proposed to be a Manchester to Sheffield motorway, but only a small section bypassing Denton and Hyde was actually built. The Woodhead Tunnel, which carried a Sheffield to Manchester railway line, was closed in 1981, and it was proposed to use it as part of a motorway link but linking the cities by road would have meant constructing many costly tunnels and viaducts across the Peak District. Consequently, the plans were shelved, but reports in December 2014 announced a revival of the ambition for a road tunnel to avoid the passes.

In 1979, the Department of Transport considered closing the road with traffic to be diverted to use the A628.

The road remains popular with drivers. A 2008 survey by Caterham Cars rated Snake Pass the best driving road in the UK. The following year, it was listed as one of the best roads for driving in Britain by Auto Trader magazine, who described it as "offering unparalleled views over Manchester".