North of Georgia, the route runs parallel to, and slightly to the west of, the Appalachian Trail.
[2] Hiking northbound, the network is projected to begin in Florida and to pass through Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, with its northern terminus at the North Country Trail in western New York State.
[3] Much of the route in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia will be shared with the Eastern Continental Trail network.
[5] The project received support from the American Hiking Society and the Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program[6] of the US National Park Service, but then became an independent entity.
[7] In June 2013 "Hillbilly" Bart Houck of Mullens, West Virginia and Joanna "Someday" Swanson of Willow River, Minnesota became the first to complete a thru-hike on the developed segments of the Great Eastern Trail network from Alabama to New York.