Natchez Trace Parkway

Route description

The Natchez Trace Parkway begins just southwest of Nashville and follows an old trail used by Native Americans, traders and travelers for 444 miles to Natchez. Near the northern end, stop at the double arch bridge over TN-96 near Franklin, where an overlook lets you see the arches from below. The parkway is marked with mileposts, which make it easy to find sights and campgrounds.

South through the Tennessee hills, pass the grave of Meriwether Lewis and a string of short trails to waterfalls, old sections of the Trace and burial mounds. The route crosses a corner of Alabama and reaches Tupelo, home of the parkway’s main visitor center and the small house where Elvis Presley was born. Beyond Tupelo, the landscape flattens into farmland and pine woods.

The parkway skirts Jackson along the Ross Barnett Reservoir, then continues through quiet woodland past sunken sections of the original trail and Emerald Mound, one of the largest ceremonial mounds in the country. It ends at Natchez, on the bluffs above the Mississippi, a town known for its antebellum mansions and the old riverfront district of Natchez Under-the-Hill.

Commercial trucks are banned and the speed limit is 50 mph at most, so plan on a relaxed pace. There are no gas stations on the parkway itself, so exit to nearby towns to refuel. Three free, first-come campgrounds lie along the route, and spring and fall are the most pleasant seasons to drive it.