GET Guides & Maps

Unlike the Appalachian Trail and most other long-distance trails, there is no guide that covers the entire Great Eastern Trail.  The following are links to where you can purchase, download, and/or print guides for specific sections.

• Always check for updates to the guides, usually listed as a free resource on the host trail website.  For example: Mid State Trail Section Updates.
• Additional information may be found at the official Great Eastern Trail site.  
• The most up-to-date trail information, in my experience, comes from Facebook.  Track down all the trail clubs you can on Facebook and pick their brains.
• The following resources are not guaranteed to be sufficient for navigation; make your own decisions about what you need to ensure your safety on the trail.

Alabama & Georgia

Pinhoti Trail Maps - Click "download the order form" to see selections - select "Pinhoti Trail."  Covers the 140 miles in Talladega National Forest, including the Rebecca Mountain Reroute. I haven't actually seen these maps in real life, but I suspect they are well-worth the price.

Far Out App: The Pinhoti Trail is on FarOut (formerly Guthook). Watch out - the Great Eastern Trail splits from the Georgia Pinhoti at Taliaferro Creek and the GET isn't marked at this location!

The Georgia Pinhoti Trail Association Facebook Group is the place to find updates to this quickly-developing section. This is a very active group!  They have lots of maps and guides, both for the Georgia Pinhoti as a whole and for the GET in Georgia (often called "Lookout Mountain Section")-- just click on the "Files" section of this group to access everything.

Georgia Atlas & Gazetteer : Once the Great Eastern Trail leaves the Pinhoti Trail at Taliaferro Creek, this becomes your best bet for maps.

The preferred route of the GET changed to include some incredible sights in northern Alabama. The Georgia Pinhoti sections and Cloudland Canyon section of the GET remain unchanged.Old GA route along brow of Lookout Mountain,saved for posterity's sake:
You may need to know the whereabouts of the following plots of public land:
Otting WMA
Zahnd Natural Area
Crockford-Pigeon WMA

New GA/AL preferred route:
The preferred route would dip back into Alabama.  This area is not officially designated as the GET, but hopefully will be soon, and is hike-able as-is.
Little River Canyon resources include links to trail information.

DeSoto State Park Map - Useful if used in conjunction with the Guide for this section.

Cloudland Canyon State Park - This does not show which trails the GET follows, but it's useful for general orientation.


Tennessee:
Guide to the GET in Tennessee

A big map of Chattanooga would be helpful but not completely necessary.

Cumberland Trail Conference Maps : Great maps and guides are available online for free!

To connect the sections via roads, I highly recommend the Delorme Tennessee Atlas & Gazetteer.  Because there are no official roadwalks (no blazes), we would have been totally lost without this.  Of all states, this is the most crucial state for the Gazetteer.

Kentucky:
Cumberland Gap National Historic Park Maps

Martins Fork Lake WMA Map - Information and map regarding an area on the current southern KY roadwalk

Kingdom Come State Park - This page has links to a brochure and various maps.

Pine Mountain Trail Conference Maps - Fantastic maps and guides for free!

FarOut - Pine Mountain Trail is on FarOut, but the website for the app currently claims only 14 miles of the significantly-longer trail. So I don't know what is going on with that.

Also recommended: a state map.  Several pages of the Delorme Kentucky Atlas Gazetteer may be useful, but overall this Delorme book is much less necessary than it is for Tennessee or Georgia.  I recommend getting this book from a library and photocopying the few pages that might be useful.

Southern West Virginia:
This is where local help will be most essential to make it through. Envision a lot of choose-your-own-adventure and careful considerations of traffic and public land availability.

Twin Falls Resort State Park - The trail is blazed for a couple of miles on the Hemlock Trail.

Camp Creek State Park and Forest- The trail is not blazed, but will likely go through this state park and the adjacent state forest.

Trails Illustrated Map 242 shows the trails/country roads that make up the route from Camp Creek State Forest to Bluestone WMA.  The route is not designated on the map as GET, but drop me a note and I can walk you through it.

West Virginia/Virginia:
The AT and GET co-align for about 16 miles.  I was able to photocopy a page from my old guide for the overlap portion. There are a few options for trail information, such as buying a portion of the Appalachian Trail FarOut app or a databook. Water is scarce in the area, so I think it's important to have a guide for this section.

Allegheny Trail Guide : As with every guidebook, remember to print information on re-routes and updates, all available on the new Allegheny Trail website. 

FarOut - In addition, the Allegheny Trail is on FarOut.

Headwaters Section Guide : Very excited to see all this hard work go to print! There is also a brief overview of Pearisburg to White Sulphur Springs.

PATC Headwaters Maps and other information. There is also a spreadsheet available for download that I would recommend having.

The following maps are necessary:
Trails Illustrated Map 791: Staunton/Shenandoah Valley
Trails Illustrated Map 792 : Massanutten & Great North Mountain

VA/WV/MD/PA:
Tuscarora Trail Guides : The Great Eastern Trail co-aligns for the middle portion of the Tuscarora Trail, meaning you need both guides IF you are hiking the eastern route.  If hiking the western route, only the southern guide is needed.  The maps were waterproof and useful, although not strictly necessary. A full description can be found on the linked website.

C&O Towpath : I bought a very affordable book on the C&O because I was interested in the history of the C&O, which the Tuscarora Trail briefly follows.  In terms of navigation, a book is not necessary - you would really, really have to try to get lost on the C&O.  If you are taking the western route of the Great Eastern Trail, it may be more useful. I enjoyed having it, especially considering how cheap it was.

Green Ridge State Forest Map : This map and brochure are only for those hiking the western route of the GET.

Pennsylvania:
Standing Stone Trail Guide : If you hike the western route of the Great Eastern Trail, this guide is not needed. This link brings you to all things Standing Stone Trail.

FarOut : The Standing Stone Trail is on FarOut.

Mid State Trail Guide : This is a fantastic book and they also have full-color maps available. While we didn't have the maps, they would have enhanced our experience and I recommend them.  I particularly recommend maps if you are taking the western route of the Great Eastern Trail, as the southern half of the MST is very dry.  Having maps would help a lot in locating the water sources which are often significantly off-trail. Basically, just get the maps.
 Resupply information, which changes frequently, is found in a free, useful, and amusing PDF. Check website for more up-to-date version of PDF in case I don't update this often enough.

FarOut : The Mid State Trail is on FarOut as well.

New York:
Crystal Hills Trail Maps with Guide : In a brilliant move, the Finger Lakes Trail Conference folks print their guide on the back of their maps. All you need are the three CH maps, though if you feel ambitious you could extend your trip to Watkins Glen. These maps are also on the Avenza App.

For ideas on where to send the maps to yourself as you hike, see my Map Maildrops page.

Update history:
First written on 2/9/14.  Contact me with updates, mistakes, broken links, addition information, etc.  Thanks!
2/15/14 - added Martins Fork Lake map & Kingdom Come information for KY, Cloudland Canyon for GA
3/6/14 - I messed up a name
4/12/14 -  added information about the alternate/preferred GA route that now meanders back into AL.  Added information about Parkay's maps into Cave Spring
4/29/14 - cleared up some stuff about the alternate/preferred GA/AL route, added more please-don't-sue-me-if-you-get-lost warnings. (I'm broke anyway.)
5/12/14 - Added Chattanooga map recommendation and link to WSS-Pearisburg link.
5/22/14 - Added overview maps link
7/6/14 - Added MST map info for western route
11/19/14 - Cleaned up some broken links
1/2/15 - Added PATC map link
1/20/15 - Added Map 242 for West Virginia.  Bart got it for me for because he's nice.  We should have had it in 2013.  Who knew?
3/26/15 - Added new Pinhoti Trail map link!  Hooray.
3/28/15 - Updated link to Standing Stone Trail maps/guide.
5/5/15 - Added link to Map Maildrops.
8/7/2015 - Updated MST PDF link to a newer version.
2/6/2016 - Updated information about GA Pinhoti Facebook Group, which is awesome.
5/1/2023 - Mr. Parkay is no more. Half the links were no more. Apps are a thing now. Jeez, it's like the internet changes in seven years or something.