Enjoy Gordon House, Jackson Falls, tobacco farms, 2000 year-old burial mounds, Pearl River, Cypress Swamp, the Trace, a large Indian burial ground, and various crafts.
The Natchez Trace Parkway is a 429-mile drive from Franklin, Tennessee all the way to Natchez, Mississippi. The trip takes 2 to 2-1/2 days. After paying a visit to the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, drive west out of town to Route 96. The Trace progresses through open fields and woods on the way to the Gordon House, one of the few remaining structures on the old Trace. Just after Gordon House lies Jackson Falls and a tobacco farm featuring exhibits on how to grow tobacco. A 2-mile drive along the original Old Trace starts here.
The Sweetwater Branch nature trail is situated on the other side of the open farmland. Another twenty miles of woods tales you to the Alabama border. Go across the Tennessee River at Colbert Ferry and follow the quarter-mile Freedom Hills Overlook trail. Drive south on Route 96 into Mississippi. When crossing the Jamie L. Whitten Bridge over the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, keep in mind that the idea to construct the bridge came in the mid-1700s and, in 1985, it was finally completed. The 90-acre Pharr Mounds is situated a few miles south of the Tenn-Tom Waterway. There are 8 dome-shaped burial mounds built around 2,000 years prior. Don’t miss the park’s headquarters at the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center. Here you can understand more about the Trace.
Enter the Tombigbee National Forest, from here, and stop under the fragrant pines at Witch Dance. Continuing south you will go by the remains of Bynum Mounds. Visit the Kosciusko Visitor Center in the town of Kosciusko, the birthplace of the famous Oprah Winfrey. Outside of town, view the Cypress Swamp and Pearl River. Follow the shore of Ross Barnett Reservoir and it will lead you to the Mississippi Crafts Center at Ridgeland. Here, you can purchase quilts, pottery, Choctaw baskets, and other crafts. Pass through Jackson, the center of Mississippi, to the Sunken Trace, a trail along an eroded section of the old Trace. Thirty miles to the south is Mount Locust, the only inn still on the Trace and one of the oldest edifices in the state. The second biggest Indian burial ground, Emerald Mound, is located 5 miles from Mount Locust.
Starting Point:
Franklin, TN
Distance of Drive:
458 miles
Must Eat:
Biscuits and Blues
315 Main St., Natchez, MS 39129
Phone: 601-446-9922
Call ahead to confirm hours of operation.
Good Stop For: Smoked Ribs
Best Time of Year for Drive:
Spring to Fall
Points of Interest on Drive:
Ross Barnett Reservoir
Pharr Mounds
Tombigbee National Forest
Tagged with: best time:spring • Mississippi
Filed under: Best Road Trips