Natchez Trace

https://www.nps.gov/natt/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchez_Trace_Trail The Natchez Trace Trail is a designated National Scenic Trail in the United States, whose route generally follows sections of the 444-mile (715 km) Natchez Trace Parkway through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi. The Natchez Trace Trail is not a long, continuous footpath, as is the case with other national scenic trails (such as the Appalachian Trail); rather, only a limited number of trail segments along the route, currently over 60 miles (97 km) of trail, have been developed for hiking and horseback riding. Moreover, the Natchez Trace Trail, unlike many others that rely heavily on volunteers for trail construction and maintenance, is managed and maintained by the National Park Service. The Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail is five sections of hiking trail running roughly parallel to the 444-mile long Natchez Trace Parkway scenic motor road. The foot trails total more than 60 miles and offer opportunities to explore wetlands, swamps, hardwood forest, and the history of the area. For What's Open What's Close visit www.nps.gov/natr/planyourvisit/what-is-open-what-is-closed.htm Directions to the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail vary greatly depending on what section you are trying to reach. For specific questions concerning how to get to a certain section or trail head of the National Scenic Trail, please call the Visitor Center at 1-800-305-7417. Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center The National Park Service administers the scenic trail site through the Natchez Trace Parkway.Visitors are welcome to learn more about the scenic at the Parkway Visitor Center, located at milepost 266 On the Natchez Trace Parkway near Tupelo, Mississippi. The Parkway Visitor Center is open every day of the year except Thanksgiving. December 25, and January 1 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Central Time). The Parkway Visitor Center is located at milepost 266 on the Natchez Trace Parkway. The visitor center is located near the intersection of highway 145 and the Natchez Trace Parkway north of Tupelo, Mississippi. GPS Address for the Visitor Center: 2680 Natchez Trace Parkway Tupelo, MS 38804 Potkopinu Section of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail Potkopinu Section of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail The Potkopinu section, between milepost 17 and 20, follows the historic Old Trace. The "sunken" nature of the trail is due to the footsteps of thousands of travelers between the 1780s and 1820s in the soft loess soil. Rocky Springs Section of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail A section of the Old Trace at Rocky Springs (MP 52.4-59) A section of the Old Trace at Rocky Springs (MP 52.4-59) Yockanookany Section Trail Head at Cypress Swamp A fork in the trail with directional signs Access to the Yockanookany section of the National Scenic Trail at Cypress Swamp (MP 122) Great White Dog Ofi' Tohbi' Long ago Ofi' Tohbi', a great white dog, led Chicsha and Chatah and their people to settle in the southeast. Sitting white German Shepherd dog Emancipation and the Quest for Freedom Although the abolition of slavery emerged as a dominant objective of the Union war effort, most Northerners embraced abolition as a practical measure rather than a moral cause. The war resolved legally and constitutionally the single most important moral question that afflicted the nascent republic, an issue that prevented the country from coalescing around a shared vision of freedom, equality, morality, and nationhood. Slave family seated in front of their house Reflecting on 55 years of the National Trails System Act: A Journey Through the Establishment of National Scenic and Historic Trails In celebration of the 55th anniversary of the National Trails System Act, learn more about these significant trails and their history. Press Kit: Natchez Trace Parkway Safe Driving This press kit compiles relevant resources, links, and information for reporters to use in their reporting within the Natchez Trace Parkway. Specifically focusing on safe driving within the Parkway. Parkway disappearing into the fog “Cracking the code” on mercury bioaccumulation Read the abstract and get the link to a published paper on a model to predict mercury risk park waterbodies: Kotalik, C.J. et al. 2025. Ecosystem drivers of freshwater mercury bioaccumulation are context-dependent: insights from continental-scale modeling. Environmental Science & Technology. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c07280 A person stands in a field looking at a bug through a magnifying lens.

The 450-plus-mile foot trail that became known as the Natchez Trace was the lifeline through the Old Southwest in the nation’s early decades. The Natchez Trace Parkway was established as a unit of the National Park System in 1938 to commemorate this historic route. In 1983 the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail was established as a unit of the National Park System and the National Trails System. It runs parallel to the Parkway, providing visitors with another opportunity to enjoy the scenery and history of the Natchez Trace corridor. National Scenic Trail Alabama / Mississippi / Tennessee National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior From the Mississippi River Bluffs to the Tennessee Hills Today the national scenic trail consists of five separate sections—over 60 miles—developed for hiking and horseback riding (see maps on the other side of this brochure). Portions follow the segments of the original Trace. Like the parkway, the scenic trail is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace. Take your time and you will be rewarded with the sights and sounds experienced by those who came long before you. US states as of 1820. The Trace is shown from Natchez to Nashville. The Old Southwest was roughly Mississippi and Alabama, with parts of surrounding states and territories. © florida center for instructional technology National Scenic Trail Great blue heron with snake Sunken Trace, Potkopinu section Wild turkey visuals unlimited nps visuals unlimited Southern magnolia visuals unlimited Have a Safe Visit, Help Protect the Park Planning Your Visit There are visitor information centers at Meriwether Lewis (mp 386), Tupelo (mp 266), Ridge­land (mp 102.4), and Mount Locust (mp 15.5). Each has information about the parkway and national scenic trail sections. The maps on the other side of this brochure give details about the trail sections. There are campgrounds and picnic areas along the parkway. Backcountry camping requires a permit; call 662-680-4014. Nearby towns have food, fuel, lodging, and other services. Flatboat on the Ohio River Natchez Trace Red fox photo researchers, inc. Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail is one of over 390 areas in the National Park System. For more information on national parks, visit www.nps.gov. Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail c/o Natchez Trace Parkway 2680 Natchez Trace Parkway Tupelo, MS 38804 1-800-305-7417 www.nps.gov/natt www.nps.gov/natr Emergencies: call 911 Trails sometimes cross roads or follow the parkway’s shoulder. Use extreme caution in these situations. • Trails may run close to private property. Please respect owners’ privacy and posted signs. • Heavy rain can produce muddy and wet trail conditions, even long after the rain has ended. Always remain on the trail and tread lightly to prevent further erosion. • Pets must be on a leash six feet long or less and under physical control at all times. Service animals are welcome. • Motorized vehicles and bicycles are prohibited. • Stream and reservoir water is unsafe to drink. • Camp­fires are prohibited. • Carry out all litter. • Be watchful for fire ants, poison ivy, and venomous snakes, and don’t put your hands or feet in places you can’t see. • If you carry firearms inside the park, you are responsible for understanding and complying with federal, state, and local firearms regulations. Visit the park website for more information. • All natural, historical, and archeological objects are protected by federal law. Do not damage or collect these items. Mount Locust historic stand, mp 15.5 Chickasaw Indian village nps nps / © marc muench The Road Through the Old Southwest People have walked the Natchez Trace for thousands of years. Choctaw, Chickasaw, Natchez, and other American Indians traveled long distances through the southern pine and hardwood forests via a network of northeast/southwest trails. Fall color along the trail nps / © marc muench In the late 1800s, the Trace gained a new importance among the American settlers of the Ohio River Valley. Kaintucks—farmers—transported products to market on wooden flatboats. The men floated down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to the ports of Natchez and New Orleans. There the Kaintucks sold the farm goods and, because they couldn’t float back upriver, sold the flatboats for lumber. Then they set out on the Natchez Trace on foot or horseback, covering hundreds of miles on the journey home. The Trace was not a single path, but many interconnected paths within a wide corridor. You can still see places where the old route is obvious— deeply sunken portions of the trail tramped down by millions of footsteps home. It was a dangerous journey; extreme weather conditions, disease, or accidents could incapacitate or kill you. If you had enough money, you could get food, drink, and crude lodging at a stand, or inn. By the mid-1820s steamboats made travel upriver a far quicker way home than foot travel. The Natchez Trace soon became obsolete. Blackland Prairie

Natchez Trace Parkway National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natchez Trace Parkway Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee Sunlight filters through trees along a section of the original trace at milepost 41.5. This is t h e story of people on t h e move, of t h e age-old need t o get f r o m one place t o another. It is t h e story of Natchez, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Indians f o l l o w i n g traditional ways of life, o f French and Spanish people venturing into a w o r l d new t o t h e m , and o f people b u i l d i n g a n e w n a t i o n . A t first t h e trace was probably a series of hunters' paths t h a t slowly came t o f o r m a trail f r o m t h e Mississippi River over t h e l o w hills into t h e valley of the Tennessee River. By 1733 t h e French k n e w t h e land well enough t o map it and showed an Indian trail r u n n i n g f r o m Natchez t o the northeast. By 1785 Ohio River valley farmers seeking markets had begun t o f l o a t their crops and products d o w n t h e rivers t o Natchez or New Orleans. Because they sold their f latboats f o r lumber, r e t u r n i n g h o m e meant either riding or w a l k i n g . The trail f r o m Natchez was t h e most direct. Growing numbers of travelers t r a m p e d t h e crude trail into a clearly marked path. By 1810 years of improvements had made t h e trace an i m p o r t a n t wilderness road, t h e most heavily traveled in t h e Old S o u t h w e s t . As t h e road was i m p r o v e d , o t h e r c o m f o r t s came t o t h e trace. People b u i l t inns, locally called stands. By 1820 over 20 stands w e r e in o p e r a t i o n , most providing only basic f o o d and shelter. M o u n t Locust and Gordon House w e r e substantial, w e l l - k n o w n establishments. Even w i t h developments t h e trace was not free of discomforts. Thieves added danger t o a catalog of hazards—swamps, floods, disease-carrying insects, and sometimes u n f r i e n d l y Indians. A new era in t r a n s p o r t a t i o n d a w n e d w h e n t h e steamer New Orleans arrived in Natchez in January 1812. Soon steamboats w e r e calling regularly at St. Louis, Nashville, and Louisville. Travelers p r e f e r r e d s t e a m b o a t travel's speed a n d comparative safety t o t h e slow pace of g o i n g overland. Before long t h e bustling trace had become a peaceful forest lane. These parklands preserve i m p o r t a n t examples of our nation's natural and cultural h e r i t a g e . Started in t h e late 1930s, t h e m o d e r n Natchez Trace Parkway parallels t h e old trace. In 1995 t h e National Scenic Byways Program recognized t h e parkway's historic significance and scenic qualities, designating it an A l l American Road. Today t h e completed parkway gives travelers an unhurried route f r o m Natchez t o Nashville. Milepost Gazetteer The milepost numbering system begins at Natchez, milepost 0, the southern terminus. It ends near Nashville at milepost 444, the northern terminus. Mileposts are on the parkway's east side. Points of interest or visitor services are noted on this brochure to the nearest tenth of a mile. On the map (other side of this brochure) mileposts are noted every fifth mile and labeled in pink every tenth mile. The 155-foot-high Double Arch Bridge (top), near the parkway's northern terminus, passes over Tenn. 96. Meriwether Lewis Monument (center) is at milepost 385.9. Cypress Swamp self-guiding trail (bottom) is just north of Jackson, at milepost 122. Part of the self-guiding trail follows this boardwalk. Mount Locust stand (top) at milepost 15.5 has been restored. It was one of the trace's earliest and most well-known inns. River Bend (bottom) is at milepost 122.6. 444.0 Northern Terminus. Intersection with Tenn. 100. 438.0 Birdsong Hollow. Completed in 1994, this double-arched bridge received the Presidential Award for Design Excellence in 1995. 427.6 Garrison Creek. Named for a nearby 1801-02 U.S. Army post. Area is a trailhead for horseback riders and hikers. 426.3 Old Trace. The U.S. Army cleared this section in 1801-02 and continued southward with consent of the Chickasaw Nation. 425.4 Burns Branch. 423.9 Tennessee Valley Divide. When Tennessee joined the Union in 1796 this was the boundary between the United States to the north and the Chickasaw Nation to the south. 411.8 Water Valley Overlook. 407.7 Gordon House Historic Site. From 1801 until traffic on the trace declined, the Gordons ran a ferry across Duck River here. The house was built about 1818. 405.1 Baker Bluff Overlook. 404.7 Jackson Falls. Named for Andrew Jackson, the falls are on the intermittent Jackson Branch that empties into Duck River. 403.7 Old Trace. Take a pleasant walk on a 2,000-foot section of the original trace. 401.4 Tobacco Farm. Exhibits explain tobacco growing. A two-mile drive along the old trace begins here. The road is not accessible for travel trailers or low-clearance vehicles. 400.2 Sheboss Place. A stand (inn) stood here. 397.4 Old Tr