Natchez Trace Parkway Overview- Part 1 of Natchez Trace Series

We had gotten the idea sometime last year about traveling down the Natchez Trace Parkway, stopping at some of the historical and scenic sites, and camping along the way.  We finally did it in early May of 2013.  We took a week to make the journey and it was a  great experience.  

There are many (very many) sites to see along the way and several choices of campgrounds to stay at.  The sites range from architectural marvels like the famous double arch bridge

to historical sites like the final resting place of the famous explorer, Meriwether Lewis

to beautiful scenic natural sites like Jackson Falls.

 The best resource for information on the parkway can be found at the National Park Service's website at:  http://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm

If you do decide to travel the parkway, especially in a large vehicle or camper, please be aware that the entire parkway is a designated bike route.  You WILL encounter a good number of cyclists on the parkway, especially near the north terminus and the Jackson, MS area.  There is not a dedicated bike lane and they have the right of way.  I was amazed at the number of cyclists at the north terminus. It is the hilliest section of the parkway and I could feel my lungs burn just watching them.

There are no commercial vehicles allowed on the parkway so traffic  is generally light.  Posted speed limits vary from 40 to 50 mph.  There are also no commercial establishments along the parkway (no gas stations, restaurants, etc.); however, there are plenty of exits to visit some of the towns along the way.  

The parkway has several visitor centers and rest stops with restrooms and picnic areas.  This is the rest area at Jacks Branch.  There are picnic tables and grills.  Our kitchen area and refrigerator in the camper is accessible without pulling out the slides so we were able to stop, fix a picnic lunch and stretch our legs a bit without leaving the parkway.                             

There are 3 free, no hookup campgrounds along the parkway.  We have visited all of them, but have not camped at any.  We would like to try them out some time.  One, Meriwether Lewis, is in Tennesse.  It is a large campground and it looks like there is quite a bit to do there.  The other two are in MS (Jeff Busby and Rocky Springs).  

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip.  I will publish a series of posts about each campground we stayed at and the sites we visited along the way.