• A curve along the Natchez Trace Parkway with fall colors

    Natchez Trace

    Parkway AL,MS,TN

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  • Sequestration Effects on the Parkway

    On March 1, 2013, the Parkway was required to reduce its annual budget by five percent, in accordance with the sequestration provision of the Budget Control Act of 2011. Click the link to learn about visitor center, restroom, and services impacts. More »

  • Portion of National Scenic Trail Near Tupelo Closed to Hikers

    Part of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail (NOT the Parkway) near Tupelo, MS, has been closed until 2015 due to construction under Tupelo's Major Thoroughfare Construction Project. Parkway travelers may expect delays, but no detours are expected. More »

Stories

The Old Trace at milepost 222 of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

There are many preserved sections of the Old Natchez Trace that can been visited along the Parkway. This one is found at Milepost 222 in north Mississippi.

NPS

Sections of the Old Trace are the common ground that connect us to the stories of people across centuries. The most celebrated travelers of the Natchez Trace were farmers and boatmen from the Ohio River regions of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky floating supplies down to ports in Natchez and New Orleans at the beginning of the 1800s. Regardless of where they came from, they were collectively known as "Kaintucks." But the story of the Natchez Trace is not just about the Kaintucks. The Old Trace ran through the heart of Choctaw and Chickasaw country. It also ran through a series of mounds that had been built by people over the previous 2000 years and through a diverse terrain of swamps, rivers, and rolling hills that provided significant obstacles for travelers.

Did You Know?

Dogwood tree along the Natchez Trace Parkway

Over 100 different species of trees, including the Dogwood and Redbud, grow along the Natchez Trace Parkway.