Now on North Avenue, NY 96 passes through the heart of Owego before leaving the village and following Owego Creek into a long stretch of rural country. Just over north of Owego village in the town of Owego, NY 96 meets the southern terminus of NY 38. At this point, NY 38 becomes the creekside highway while NY 96 passes over Owego Creek and follows Catatonk Creek northwest into the town of Candor. Once in Candor, the route and the creek turn northward toward the village of Candor, where NY 96 meets NY 96B, an alternate route of NY 96 between Candor and the city of Ithaca. Past NY 96B, NY 96 turns to the west and crosses over Catatonk Creek as it exits the village. West of Candor, NY 96 follows an east–west alignment through a creek valley to the village of Spencer, where the route converges with NY 34 and heads north into another valley leading to Tompkins County.