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Natchez Trace Parkway The Choctaw story is one of many that can be explored along the Natchez Trace Parkway.
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Natchez Trace Parkway
Tupelo to the Tennessee Line

This portion of the Parkway map will help you plan your visit from Tupelo, Mississippi north through Alabama. 

 
Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center near Tupelo, Mississippi.

NPS Photo

The Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center is open year round, except Christmas Day, and contains interpretive displays on the history and culture of the Natchez Trace.

The Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center, located at milepost 266, has a twelve-minute orientation film, interpretive displays about the natural and cultural history of the Natchez Trace, as well as an Eastern National Bookstore. A park ranger is available from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm daily (except Christmas Day) to answer any questions you may have. This is also the location to get your passport stamps for the Natchez Trace Parkway, Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, Tupelo National Battlefield, and Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield. 
 
Unknown Confederate gravesites

NPS Photo

A short walk on the Old Trace takes you to thirteen Confederate gravesites.

A short walk on the Old Trace at milepost 269.4 will take you to 13 Confederate gravesites. The identity and cause of death of these 13 Confederate soldiers remain a mystery. 
 
Pharr Mounds contains eight mounds and an interpretive display

Photo by Marc Muench

Three of the six visible (eight total) mounds at the Pharr Mounds site. 

If you were at milepost 286.7 about 2000 years ago, you may have seen a busy village full of people. The Pharr Mounds Site contains eight mounds that vary from two feet to 18 feet high, and represent the lives of people from the Middle Woodland period. Interpretive waysides explain the mound building process and life in the village.
 
A view of the John Coffee Memorial Bridge from the Colbert Ferry Site. Image copyright nps/marc muench.

Photo by Marc Muench

Today there is a bridge over the Tennessee River, but in the early 1800's George Colbert operated a ferry across the river.

Today a bridge takes you across the Tennessee River, but at milepost 327.3 George Colbert operated a stand and ferry at this spot in the early 1800's. A seasonal contact station provides information on the area. Colbert Ferry is a great place to enjoy a picnic by the river, or to use the boat launch for fishing and boating on the Tennessee River.
 
A view of the stepping stones at the Rock Spring Nature Trail.

NPS Photo

The stepping stones at the Rock Spring Nature Trail take visitors to views of Colbert Creek.

The Rock Spring Nature Trail at milepost 330.2 is a short half mile loop trail that takes you past Colbert Creek and away from the traffic of the parkway. In late summer when the jewelweed is in bloom, visitors may be rewarded with views of the ruby-throated hummingbirds as they migrate south. 

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Boatmen from the Ohio River Valley walked along the Natchez Trace.

Did You Know?
The "Kaintucks", or boatmen from the Ohio River Valley, would walk approximately 500 miles from Natchez to Nashville along the Natchez Trace in about 30 days.
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Last Updated: May 31, 2011 at 13:35 MST