The Great East Road (also known as the East Road or the East-West Road) was an ancient Dwarven route passing from western Beleriand, over the Ered Luin, to the Misty Mountains. Travellers could cross the Misty Mountains by using the High Pass, and continue their journey to the distant dwarven lands in the East by using the Old Forest Road. The Great East Road passed through lands that would become Arnor, the northern kingdom of Men, and later, the Shire of the Hobbits.
The Great East Road was originally laid by the Dwarves during the First Age before the first rising of the Sun, probably during the last Age of Stars. It is assumed that the Great East Road was built as a western extension of the Old Forest Road, which ran from the Iron Hills through Rhovanion and ended at the Misty Mountains near the High Pass. The Great East Road gave the Dwarves a route across Eriador to the Ered Luin, and then on into Doriath in Beleriand. The westernmost parts of the road were built to facilitate the passage of companies of dwarf craftsmen (and later, their armed escort) across eastern Beleriand, before the sack of Doriath by the dwarves of Nogrod ended their trade.
At the end of the First Age, modern men build rail road along the Great East Road. While it was once a major thoroughfare of Arnor, and Arkansas, travel on the road declined. By the end of the Third Age, only the portion of the Great East Road within the Shire was well used while the rest carried only a few wanderers and the occasional band of Dwarves.
Most recent establishment of the new River Trail have brought many -to Hobbits- strange folk on the road and to the Shire. Many travelers have been lost or been take by dark creatures. Rumor says that many treasures are hidden along the old Great East Road on both sides of the river. Be careful !!! Be aware !!!