Natchez Trace Parkway — SEE and EAT

Mar 28

Mar 28 Natchez Trace Parkway

A trace is an informal road or trail and the Natchez Trace Parkway, which goes from Natchez, MS to just outside Nashville, TN, roughly follows an old trail that was first used by Native Americans and then in the 1800’s by farmers and boatmen who floated down the Mississippi River and then walked back North. Construction of the Parkway started in 1939 by the CCC and was completed in 1994.

I first heard about the Natchez Trace Parkway when I read Deep South by Nevada Barr and I’ve wanted to see it ever since.

Starting our drive in Tupelo, we drove to the terminus in Natchez. I have to say, the Parkway is not exactly exciting to drive, it’s 2 lanes, limited access, the view is mostly trees, and the speed limit is 45, so the going is slow, but there are lots of interesting stops.

Our first parkway related stop near Tupelo, was Civil War battlefield Brices Crossroad National Battlefield and then Tupelo National Battlefield.

We camped at Davis Lake Campground, a small and pleasant campground.

There are a number of mound sites, Owl Creek Mounds are right next to Davis lake and then Bynum Mounds are a short stop on the Parkway.

There are several places where the original trace is still visible.

There’s a large Cypress Swamp, but it was closed due to storm damage, so we stopped at a much smaller swamp.

Not an official stop, but north of Jackson, we found a cotton field that was close to the road. We had been seeing cotton on and off for awhile and were wanting to take a closer look at the plants.

It was time for lunch, and we stopped in Jackson at Cock of the Walk and had a tasty lunch of fried everything (fish, hush puppies, and fries (there was also coleslaw and cornbread)) sitting by Ross Barnett Reservoir.

South of Jackson, was one of the most interesting stops for us. Rocky Springs, originally setting in the late 1700’s, is a ghost town. although the church is still used. There are some short trails around the town site and an interesting old and mossy cemetery.