The trail runs 498 kilometres (309 mi) from Pieterburen, in the northern part of Groningen, south through the eastern part of the Netherlands to end just south of Maastricht, on the top of Mount Saint Peter (St Pietersberg), at a height of 109 metres (358 ft).
The Pieterpad is one of the official Long Distance Paths in the Netherlands (Lange Afstand Wandelpad Nummer 9) and by far the most popular of its long distance walking routes.
The trail was the idea of Toos Goorhuis-Tjalsma (1915-2004) living in Tilburg, in the south of the Netherlands and her friend Bertje Jens (1913-2009) living in Groningen in the north of the Netherlands.
They came up with the idea to design a rambling route between their hometowns, later re-organised between the far north to the far south.
The GR5, which runs through the Ardennes to Nice and the French Alps, is one of the most popular international trails for hikers.