Natchez Trace Roadtrip

[mud]

Have about 4 or 5 days off for a mtb road trip, was originally thinking of just heading straight up to TN but a friend recommended taking the Natchez Trace parkway up.

Looks cool and not too far out of the way, no commercial traffic, no billboards, cool historic shit etc.

Anyone ever taken this ride?

[BmillsSkier]

I haven’t cruised the Natchez Trace Pkwy, however I have written at length here about how good a road trip through the rural South is for the soul.

My familiar roads hew closer to the coast but I say do it, report back.

[Shredhead]

It’s nice..

[Mr. Mike]

Have about 4 or 5 days off for a mtb road trip, was originally thinking of just heading straight up to TN but a friend recommended taking the Natchez Trace parkway up.

Looks cool and not too far out of the way, no commercial traffic, no billboards, cool historic shit etc.

Anyone ever taken this ride?

I've never been south of Tupelo, but biked Tupelo to Nashville about 6-8 years ago. I'm routinely on the north 50-100 mile stretch of it either biking or driving somewhere to fish. It's busy around Tupelo but nice and scenic everywhere north of there. Scenic drive, but not many places to get food or gas just off the Trace so plan accordingly.

[mud]

I haven’t cruised the Natchez Trace Pkwy, however I have written at length here about how good a road trip through the rural South is for the soul.

My familiar roads hew closer to the coast but I say do it, report back.

Cool thanks, I need a road trip bad and this looks like it could be a fun one.

[highangle]

It's been a long time, but I worked on that road, mostly between Jackson and Kosciusko ["Kozzie-esco" in local parlance], for about 6 months. It's a nice relaxing drive, but gets real dark and full of deer at night.

Look for blue plate specials in little crossroad town diners. X-checking the place against Yelp or Google reviews is usually a good way to eat better than fast food in a strange place in America.

French Camp had a very nice little B&B and rustic crafts gift shop back when. There are books about the history of "The Trace"...Andy By-God Jackson and others, including famous gangs of highwaymen that waylaid travelers and emigrants for decades because the law was never strong enough to take them on in the 1820s-1850s.

The country is rich and pleasant, if a bit hot and humid. Large scale farming never took for a large part of Mississippi outside "The Delta".

The tupelo and cypress swamps are wild and full of reptiles and birds. Look for wild turkey in the meadows along the road in the early mornings - in fact, pay good attention to what might jump out in front of you... There's good fishing in some of the flooded borrow pits they had to dig to get the dirt for the elevated road.
Eastern mixed hardwood forests, esp climax forest, are really nice woods - white and red oaks, hickory & cherry and a lot of feral pecan trees, which have been cultivated down there for prob a couple centuries. At night you drive through honeysuckle and jasmine.
There is some State land near the Trace, and if you can book a Ms State Park cabin near your route, you may like it.

https://mississippistateparks.reserv...indCampingSpot