[NOTE: The Natchez Trace Parkway is the National Scenic Byway and All-American Road created to honor the historic Natchez Trace. The latter, referred to as the Trace, was a system of trails used by buffalo and other wildlife in migration or searching for known salt licks; Native Americans (Natchez, Choctaw, and Chickasaw), hunters and trappers, and by men returning north from selling their wares/goods in Natchez or New Orleans. They would float their goods down on a flatboat, sell their wares and the lumber from the boat itself then walk or ride horseback to their home.
The Trace was mapped as an Indian trail by the French as early as 1733 and, by 1810, it was the most heavily traveled route in the “Old Southwest” -- Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The steamer New Orleans arrived in Natchez in January of 1812, thus began a shift to steamboat travel, leaving the Trace to melt into the forest once again.]
OVERVIEW: Neither of us remember being taught much about the Natchez Trace (the Trace, for short). After we started RVing full-time and met other RV folks, we began to hear and read about it and the Parkway. All reports said the latter was a beautiful and informative drive. One thing leads to another…
Last fall, we began thinking about this summer’s 5 or 6 months’ travel opportunities. Our primary desire was to see our niece Catron, her husband Chris, and their 2 gorgeous toddlers living up in northern VA.
So, road atlas in hand, we developed a reasonable route up to VA and back. Coming from TX, it was natural to wander up through LA and MS, thus a decision was made to “do” the Trace as we headed north.
The Parkway, administered by the National Park Service (NPS), is 444 miles long, beginning at Natchez, MS, and ending 15 miles s.w. of Nashville, TN. There are no commercial vehicles allowed on the Parkway; no businesses or services are located on the Trace itself but are available in nearby towns and cities. The speed limit is 50 mph (strictly enforced), enabling visitors to enjoy the beauty and history of the Trace at a leisurely pace. There are no billboards. There is NO LITTER – the parkway is continually patrolled by maintenance workers who pluck up any roadside litter with special tongs and empty the trash containers at all the pull-offs.
In our busy lives, when do we ever get to drive slowly along a route, savoring the tranquility, enjoying the fresh green landscape – no visual insults, no pressure – and get to learn so much in addition? The Trace offers many lessons about the Civil War, about slavery and the Emancipation, about the “Old Southwest” (as mentioned above), about today’s South and about southern hospitality. There are many locations en route where you can view portions of the Old Trace itself, worn down by possibly hundreds or thousands of years of foot and, later, carriage travel.
We enjoyed the actual design of the Parkway itself. The Parkway Visitor Center (MM 266) has an exhibit that mentions the concept of “viewshed”. (Yes, like “watershed”) Viewshed means everything within the visitor’s view along the Parkway must be pleasing and appropriate. Therefore, even the way the roadside grass is mowed has a design plan. There are very few straight lines, only along fences; the tree line gently undulates in and out. A small grove stands in the clear, neatly mowed around its feet. A little “cove” is created by mowing back into the tree line, inviting the eye to wander back in. All this thought creates a visual banquet that is so restful and interesting.
The NPS map is arranged by mile marker, corresponding to the actual numbered markers alongside the road. The parkway property varies in width on either side of the roadway, sometimes no wider than a few hundred feet on each side (a total of 800’ wide at its narrowest). Other times, there are dense woods on either side, and a sense of blissful separation from civilization. Oh, there’s an occasional glimpse of a farmhouse or outbuilding but it’s never jarring.
Signage along the Parkway is discrete, identifiable by its brown color and by the arrowhead-shaped signs at the various pull-offs or historic sites. Access to the Parkway from county or state roads only has one brown sign saying “Natchez Parkway” in each direction; they are really easy to miss!
There are 3 free NPS campgrounds on the Trace, offering basic amenities but no hookups or dump stations: Rocky Springs (MM 54.8), Jeff Busby (MM 193.1), and Meriwether Lewis (MM 385.9). All are first come-first served (no reservations) and all three campgrounds are open year-round. They each have a few sites which can accommodate today’s larger RV’s but suit smaller rigs or tents a bit better. Please visit the websites noted below for further information.
We chose to explore the Trace in segments, making one-week stops in Natchez (already posted), Vicksburg, Jackson, and Tupelo, MS, and two weeks in Hohenwald, TN. We then drove the Trace to its northern terminus in Pasquo, 15 miles s.w. of Nashville.
Our posts on traveling the Parkway itself are next.
RESOURCES: We recommend purchasing “Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway” by F. Lynne Bachleda [2005, Menasha Ridge Press, Birmingham, AL]. It was FULL of valuable information and more than worth its $15 price! We found our copy at the Natchez Visitors Center; it’s for sale at all the Visitor Centers along the Parkway.)
Helpful websites:
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