natchez trace highway

Just finished driving and camping it. We took five days. Did about 100 miles per day. Typical day started about 10:00AM and ended about 4:00. That's a SLOW pace. We stopped often to experience, see, feel, and learn what was there. There's a lot of history, and quite a bit of nature. We found this guide to be an indispensable resource.

We camped at a campground at the Natchez end, we camped at a commercial campground along the way, a Corp of Engineers campground along the way, and two of the three park service campgrounds on the Trace Parkway itself.

I'm in the process of writing about our whole trip (much longer than just the Trace) in my travel blog . I'll get to the part about the Trace in a few more days.

-Speak

We have travelled it several times. It is a peaceful drive with no commercial vehicles at all. Speedlimit is 50 MPH. The historical and scenic spots areinteresting to stop at. We have stayed at the campsites on the trace and also one off the trace ( I can't remember what one).

Merriwether Lewis is a nice campground. Clean restroom,water faucet, paved sites you must park on only, shallow rocky stream in walking distance, historical site and monument, hiking trails and TICKS. We had on problems when there in colder weather but the last time was in April iirc and ticks were out.

If want to make miles, skip The Trace. If you want a beautiful, historical drive this is one of them.

Road is well maintained. There are 3 campgrounds on the trace with flush toilets. No other devices. There are many commercial CG within a short distance of the trace. The trace is long as narrow. In some places one can see from one side to the other while on the road. Great ride and quite camping at no cost.

If you like historical stuff, especially Civil War era, it's interesting. Otherwise, not. Speed limit is 40-50 mph. Do take time to go to Vicksburg, a little ways up river from Natchez. The NPS site there is very good. The NPS-owned mansion in Natchez has incredibly knowledgeable staff... the name escapes me.

There are NPS campgrounds (no amenities except group water) on the Trace, and commercial campgrounds and state parks nearby.