New York State Route 38A (NY 38A) is a north–south state highway located within Onondaga and Cayuga counties in central New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an intersection with NY 38 in the village of Moravia. Its northern terminus is at a junction with U.S. Route 20 (US 20) and NY 5 in downtown Auburn. Much of NY 38A runs through rural, undeveloped areas situated between Owasco Lake and Skaneateles Lake.

U.S. Route 20 (US 20) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System that runs from Newport, Oregon, to Boston, Massachusetts. In the U.S. state of New York, US 20 extends 372.32 miles (599.19 km) from the Pennsylvania state line at Ripley to the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshires. US 20 is the longest surface road in New York. It runs near the Lake Erie shore from Ripley to Buffalo and passes through the southern suburbs of Buffalo, the Finger Lakes, the glacial moraines of Central New York, and the city of Albany before crossing into Massachusetts. US 20 connects to all three major north–south Interstate Highways in Upstate New York: Interstate 390 (I-390) near Avon, I-81 south of Syracuse, and I-87 in Albany by way of NY 910F.