The Ride of the Rohirrim started at Edoras and went down the Great West Road, along the same route followed less than a week earlier by Gandalf and Pippin. The first camp of the Riders was in the willow thickets where the Snowbourn joined the Entwash, 36 miles east of Edoras. (The Muster of Rohan; Bk 3). They camped twice more, once probably in Firien Wood, and once more, possibly under Min-Rimmon, before reaching the bivouac in the pinewoods of Druadan Forest. Mering Stream, which ran out of Firien Wood and down to the Entwash, was the eastern border of Rohan, and was fortified. (Cirion and Eorl; Unfinished Tales).

Three of the beacons, Halifirien, Canelhad and Min-Rimmon, are shown on this map. Halifirien was the highest and was a sacred place, known as the Holy Mountain and the Hill of Awe. It was reached by a secret path through the wood and a rock stair. (Cirion and Eorl; Unfinished Tales).