[1] In 1991, a group of cyclists and long-distance trail enthusiasts met in New York City and formed a national non-profit organization, the East Coast Greenway Alliance (ECGA), to plan and promote a greenway linking existing and planned trails into a contiguous "spine route" between Atlantic coast cities.

In summer 1992, the ECGA sent nine cyclists from Boston, New York City, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., on a 30-day "exploratory" cycle tour.

From 2001 to 2004, another 173 miles (278 km) were designated, and multiple states stepped in to help finalize their section of the route.

In 2003, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate signed letters to President Bush in support of the greenway.

[4] Riders enter the state on the Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and follow the coastline to Seabrook and then on to the Massachusetts border.

It runs through historic mill towns, such as Willimantic, and major cities like Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, and Stamford.

Users can travel on the Farmington Canal Greenway to get to New Haven from Simsbury and then ride along the Long Island Sound as they exit the state.

Travelers pass the Perry Point VA Medical Center and have great views of the Chesapeake Bay.

Next, riders travel south through Baltimore and then on to Annapolis before finishing the 166-mile (267 km) stretch of greenway in Hyattsville and entering Washington, D.C. About 32 percent of the route is off-road.

The two trails rejoin at the National Mall, the ECG's official midpoint, then head for Virginia via the Arlington Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River.

At this point, the greenway splits: the 300-mile (480 km) spine route (16% off-road) continues southwest to the Piedmont region of North Carolina.

The Greenway's spine route travels south through rural North Carolina into the Research Triangle Region, passing through Durham, Raleigh, and Cary.

This section is on the American Tobacco Trail, which runs past the East Coast Greenway Alliance Headquarters in Durham.

The route continues southwest through the Sandhills region and into Fayetteville before following the Cape Fear River into Wilmington and traveling along the coast.

[2]The 270-mile (430 km) trail travels along South Carolina's coast through Myrtle Beach, Georgetown, Charleston, and Beaufort.

The route travels through Savannah, Richmond Hill, Midway, Riceboro, Darien, Brunswick, Woodbine, Kingsland, and St. Marys.

The route continues down through islands and bridges to the southernmost point of the continental United States, Key West.

The Alliance coordinates the Greenway's growth by working with local, state, regional, and national organizations and agencies.