If you live near The Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi, you might avoid it for everyday trips — drives to work, home, or to run errands.
But if you are looking for a day or weekend trip to explore the state, “The Trace” is as close to perfect as anything in Mississippi.
The Natchez Trace Parkway is 444 miles that snake through Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee linking Natchez to Nashville.
Established as a unit of the National Park System in 1938 and officially completed in 2005, the Trace — headquartered in Tupelo — has been declared a National Scenic Byway, an All-American Road, and has been chosen as one of the country’s 10 best biking roads.
The Trace provides a near continuous greenway from the southern Appalachian foothills of Tennessee to the bluffs of the lower Mississippi River. Along the way, visitors can spot Indian mounds, — including the largest in the United States — four ecosystems, and eight major watersheds that provide habitat for nearly 1,500 species of plants, 33 mammal species, 134 bird species, and 70 species of reptiles and amphibians, according to the Natchez Trace Compact.
The Trace is well known for bicycling, hiking, camping, and scenic driving opportunities.
“It provides visitors the opportunity for an unhurried trip through time. In addition, there are dozens of unique communities along the route and just beyond the trees. Visitors can explore anything from one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities (Nashville) to charming historic villages,” said Kim Foster, executive director of the Natchez Trace Compact.
The Mississippi communities along the Trace include Natchez, Claiborne County, Raymond, Clinton, Jackson, Ridgeland, French Camp, Chickasaw County, Tupelo, and Tishomingo County.
Natchez
The Mississippi River town of Natchez is filled with historic buildings and churches, antebellum mansions, four National Park sites, and a walkable downtown area.
- The Museum of African-American History and Culture
601-445-0728 • visitnatchez.org - Trinity Episcopal Church
601-445-8432 • trinitynatchez.org - Fat Mama’s Tamales
601-304-2379 • fatmamastamales.com
Claiborne County
Claiborne County sits between the Mississippi River and the Big Black River and is about 44 minutes away from Vicksburg and an hour away from Natchez. The county includes the community of Port Gibson. Lorman — an unincorporated area in Jefferson County — is nearby and home to the nation’s first land-grant historically black college university.
- Alcorn State University
601-877-6100 • alcorn.edu - Port Gibson is the location of the Windsor Ruins, a former plantation home destroyed by fire in 1890 with 45-foot-tall masonry columns still standing.
mdah.ms.gov/explore-mississippi/windsor-ruins - Grand Gulf Military Park is a 450-acre landmark on the National Register of Historic Places with campgrounds, a museum with artifacts from the Civil War, picnic areas, and an observation tower.
601-437-5911 • grandgulfpark.ms.gov - Rocky Springs is near Port Gibson and includes a scenic hiking trail and the remains of an old town including the Rocky Springs Methodist Church. where regular services are still held, and its neighboring cemetery. Yellow Fever hit Rocky Springs in 1878 and afflicted 180 residents and killed 43 of them.
nps.gov/thingstodo/rockyspringssection.htm
Raymond
Raymond is a town in Hinds County that is rich in Civil War history.
- Places to visit in the area include a walking and driving tour of downtown Raymond.
601-857-8041 • raymondms.com - Raymond Battlefield Park has a walking trail with interpretive markers and cannon placement.
natcheztracetravel.com/natchez-trace-mississippi/jackson-raymond-ms/347-raymond-military-park.html - The John Bell Williams Airport is in nearby Bolton.
601-857-3884 • hindscc.edu/locations/john-bell-williams-airport
Clinton
The brick streets of Clinton’s olde towne feature an array of unique shops and restaurants.
- The Clinton Community Nature Center features miles of walking trails, a children’s play area, a seasonal splash pad, and historic landmarks.
601-926-1104 • clintonnaturecenter.org - Acclaimed artist Wyatt Waters’ art gallery is in Clinton as well.
601-925-8115 • wyattwaters.com
French Camp
This area is known for French Camp Academy, a Christ-centered boarding school that is also the site of two other interesting attractions.
- French Camp Academy
662-547-9464 • frenchcamp.org - French Camp Bed and Breakfast
662-547-6835 • frenchcamphistoricvillage.com - Rainwater Observatory is where visitors can experience astronomy education in a state-of-the-art planetarium and search the skies for stars and planets via the observatory’s powerful telescope.
662-547-7283 • rainwaterobservatory.org
Chickasaw County
The county’s small towns of Woodland, Houston, and Okolona offer recreation, food, off-road ATV trails, horseback riding, and plenty of history.
- The Bynum Mound, just six miles northeast of Houston and on the Trace Parkway, is where the Bynum Indians lived, hunted, and fished. The Indian mound is the oldest on the Natchez Trace.
nps.gov/places/bynum-mounds.htm - The Witch Dance, just outside of Houston, is famous for being a “haunted” campground. According to legend, witches once gathered there to dance, and wherever their feet hit the ground, the grass withered and died, never to grow again.
nps.gov/natr/witch-dance-bicycle-only-campground.htm
Tupelo
Tupelo is the headquarters for the Natchez Trace Parkway and located in the northeast part of the state, intersected by the Trace, Highway 45, and Highway 78. Tupelo is Elvis Presley’s hometown. The King of Rock and Roll was born on Jan. 8, 1935, in a modest, two-room house that his father built with $180.
- The Elvis Presley Birthplace & Museum features Presley’s home, a chapel, and a park.
662-841-1245 • elvispresleybirthplace.com - Tupelo also is home to the Tupelo Buffalo Park, where visitors can take a tour on the “Monster Bison Bus” to see buffalo up close.
662-844-8709 • tupelobuffalopark.com
Tishomingo County
Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and home to Woodall Mountain — the highest point in Mississippi — the county is filled with parks, caves, canyons, hiking trails, bridges, and streams for fishing and swimming. The county is also home to the country’s only apron museum.
- The Apron Museum at Pineslab Shop in Iuka features hundreds of vintage aprons to view and purchase.
662-279 2390 • tishomingofunhere.org/PDFs/ApronMuseumFlyer.pdf - Visitors can also take a Bear Creek canoe trip in Tishomingo State Park.
662-438-6914 • mdwfp.com
For more information about planning a trip down the Natchez Trace Parkway, visit the Natchez Trace Compact’s website at scenictrace.com or nps.gov/natr/index.htm
Visit Today in Mississippi’s Facebook page to watch a video of the Windsor Ruins, just off the Trace in Port Gibson.
