We've just enjoyed again traveling the Natchez Trace Parkway. This was our third trip along this long, narrow park.Under the auspices of the National Park Service the parkway is 444 miles long and averages 800' wide running from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. It parallels as closely as possible the route that the "Cane Tucks" took home after floating down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers with their crops. These farmers then sold their barge boats and hiked or rode back.
What a delight to drive. Limited on-off access, 50 mph speed limit, no commercial traffic, and no billboards. From this parkway, we hiked to the highest hill in Mississippi (603') and portions of the worn away old road (the "Sunken Trace"), saw Indian mounds and water tupelo swamps, and enjoyed a free night in one of the park's 3 campgrounds.
The park brochure details mile by mile what we will see. Some of the park land near the road is leased to farmers who must use the land in historical ways by grazing cattle or planting crops such as, cotton, corn, or hay.
The picture at top is of the old Trace. The road is now beautifully paved like this. The preservation of this route started in the 1930s and was finally finished in 2005. We do appreciate our National Parks.