NY 182 begins at Whirlpool Street's intersection with the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge in the northern part of Niagara Falls near the Niagara Falls Amtrak station. From here, the route heads south on Whirlpool Street, a two-lane, at-grade road that parallels the Robert Moses State Parkway through most of the city.
After two residential blocks, the route turns east onto Cleveland Avenue, leaving the vicinity of the Niagara River and entering a mixed-use area surrounding Cleveland Avenue's nearby intersection with Main Street (NY 104). Past this junction, NY 182 passes two more blocks of homes before veering northeast onto Lockport Street.