NPS Natchez Parkway Website; NPS Scenic Trail Website
WHAT IS IT?Often called the Great American Road, the Natchez Trace is a two-lane highway with a 45 mph speed limit that travels northeastwardly 444 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee.
BEAUTY (9/10)
The Natchez Trace Parkway transports you not only to your destination but also into another time and place. The road is pristine, the pace is slow and the vistas uncluttered by modern human interaction. Along nearly all of its 444 miles, there are no billboards, no commercial vehicles, no litter, no signs, no modern buildings within sight, no motels and no gas stations.
Scenery includes eastern woodland forests that turn magnificent colors in the fall, wide rural farming landscapes and bald cypress swamps. Frequent pull offs allow the driver to take the trip more slowly. Many of these stops allow the visitor to walk along portion of the old Trace, following the steps of innumerable 18th Century travelers.
HISTORICAL INTEREST (5/10)
The Natchez Trace Parkway follows a series of Indian hunting trails that were mapped by the French as early as 1733. These connecting trails were worn smoother by Ohio River Valley farmers traveling back home after they floated their goods down to New Orleans or Natchez and sold their rafts for lumber.
The U.S. Army began clearing and maintaining sections of the Natchez Road in 1801. By 1810, it was the most heavily traveled road in the Southwest. Just a few years later, the introduction and growing popularity of the steamboat gave travelers a safer and faster option, making the Trace the road less traveled.
CROWDS (8/10)We could take as much or as little time as we wanted; we were never rushed. To fully appreciate the serenity of the Natchez Trace Parkway, one simply needs to get back on the Interstate or one of the nearby commercial roads. We were always relieved to return to the Parkway.
EASE OF USE/ACCESS (4/5)
The northern terminus of the Trace intersects with SR100 about 10 miles south of Nashville, Tennessee and continues for 436 miles to its temporary terminus just north of Natchez, Mississippi.
The section of the Natchez Trace Parkway which passes through Jackson, Mississippi is still under construction, as are the remaining 8 miles into Natchez.
95% of the Parkway is complete. Mile markers pop up every five miles and before any historical or scenic highlight. Free campsites are evenly spaced about a day’s drive apart and one is never far from a commercial road or services, even though it feels like you are a world away.
CONCESSIONS/BOOKSTORE (3/5)
The main bookstore for the Parkway is in the Tupelo Visitors Center where the Trace is both the Devil’s Highway and the Devil’s Backbone, depending on the author. Pioneer days, Southern Culture the Civil War and American Indians are all discussed in the context of the Trace. New arrivals include The Death of the Buffalo East of Mississippi and The Forgotten Centuries: Indians and Europeans in the American South 1521-1704.
The Tupelo Visitors Center sells pottery made from Mississippi mud and sorghum jellies and syrups. These might make nice mementos of your drive, although we are not quite sure what sorghum tastes like.
If you are seeking truly unique and high end gifts, then wait until you reach the Mississippi Crafts Center right before the Parkway ends in the north of Jackson, Miss. The Center is staffed by local artists who are often giving demonstrations and creating baskets, jewelry, pottery, candles, et al. right in front of your eyes. All items are for sale at the Crafts Center. This is one of the places where a limited budget imposes restraint. No room in the car? No excuse. The Craft Center will ship your purchases wherever you’d like them to go.
COSTS (4/5)
The Natchez Trace is not a toll road; the only cost is the rising price of gasoline.
RANGER/GUIDE TO TOURIST RATIO (1/5)Interpretive Rangers are rare in the off-season. The only Ranger staffed at any of the Parkway’s many Ranger stations was at the Tupelo Visitor Center and she gave us incorrect info on the Brices Cross Roads site. Learning is secondary along the Natchez Trace, just take in the beautiful surroundings and slow down. We do appreciate the Maintenance Rangers who do an unbelievable job of keeping the Trace remarkably free from litter and roadkill.
TOURS/CLASSES (2/10)
The small wooden cabin near the Meriwether Lewis memorial was more of a rain shelter than am information station. A few worn maps were posted on the wall and some obligatory handouts were available. If someone detoured off the Parkway to see the broken shaft commemorating the short life of Lewis, they probably already knew the information that was shared in the cabin.
There are other Information Kiosks along the Parkway. They were all closed when we drove through in mid-February.
The narration in the old video shown at the Tupelo Visitor Center is so slow and done in such a thick Mississippi drawl that we both fell asleep during its presentation.
The frequent pull offs and their accompanying educational panels are a nice way to break up the long drive.
FUN (8/10)
After milling about in the South for so long, circling back and forth to reach battlefields and budget hotels, getting on this road and moving in a straight line felt really, really good.
The Parkway is pristine. Not a drop of litter anywhere. Even in the dead of winter, the scenery is stunning. And here’s the best sight of them all: Commercial Vehicles Prohibited.
We followed the natural rolls and slopes of the land and wandered aloud who else might have taken this route. There was no fumbling with the road atlas, arguing over wrong turns or stressing over traffic. There was just us and the car and this smooth road through an unblemished eastern forest. Being on the Trace lifted our spirits and reminded us that being on an extended road trip is a wonderful thing.
WOULD WE RECOMMEND? (8/10)Why drive down yet another interstate packed with 18-wheelers and drivers driving too fast when there is such a beautiful and peaceful alternative? It is always nice to have a destination; the Natchez Trace Parkway allows you to enjoy getting there at your own pace in your own time. There is no need to commit to the entire 440 miles, even a few hours off the main roads has a rejuvenating effect.
TOTAL 52/80
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