• Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to register so that you can join the community and use the numerous features on the site. After registering, don't forget to post up an introduction!

Natchez Trace Parkway ?s

julimike54

Forum Supporter
Joined
Feb 14, 2016
Messages
1,794
Reaction score
347
Location
Euless
First Name
Mike
Last Name
Hayden
Looking to see if anyone has ridden the NTP and has any pointers or tips.

Thanks in advance :sun:
 
It's slow and beautiful. Speed limit is 50 mph and heavily enforced by Feds. Tickets are expensive and hard to fight.

Limited access means you have to plan stops in advance.
 
It is a road that if there's not much traffic you would love to roll on the throttle and go. Lots of fairly gentile turns and curves.

I did it a few years ago with my wife. We caught the fall colors pretty much at the peak and had a great time. I was worried about the speed limit because I have a heavy wrist, but in November we didn't have any problem. There were few Rangers about. There was very little traffic then too. I also didn't count on the fact that we would stop as much as we did. There are many turnouts with historical information and stuff to look at. It's not highly exciting stuff, but we stopped at pretty much all of them and enjoyed it. Since we were on the lookout for the signs that helped keep the speeds down. I still wound up doing a bunch of U turns with a top heavy and loaded bike.

It's an enjoyable ride and if you like history, even more so.
 
Done it several times, its a great easy tour just enjoy it as a easy tour not a place to make time and you should enjoy
 
Do it, awesome ride- cool historical points of interest all along the way. But don't do it in July!
Several years ago I did, and ended up stripping my gear off it was so hot, then bailed off in Jackson in favor of I-20 just to get the air moving again. Wait til the fall! I did catch the other half of it from Nashville to Jackson but the temp was in the 50s and it rained most of the way. Much better than the first half. YMMV
 
I ride the NT fairly regularly in a car and on a bike. It is a convenient route for me to go up to Tennessee to visit my mother and brother without having to pound the Interstate. The Trace ends about 40 mile from where they live.

As mentioned, the speed limit is 50 mph, but I have found you can safely do 55 and even get away with 58 to 59 mph. Don't get caught doing 60 or over or you will likely be pulled over.

Is the Trace a great ride? I guess it is depending on one's perspective. I am not all about speed and curves, sometimes I just like to set the cruise control, turn up the music, put my feet up on the highway pegs and just enjoy the ride. Very little traffic, no stop signs, no traffic lights, just a nice scenic ride.
 
Looking to see if anyone has ridden the NTP and has any pointers or tips.

Thanks in advance :sun:

Bring a bucket of PATIENCE! After 50 miles, every tree looks the same. :-) At mile post 385.9 (if you can last that long) is the memorial to Meriwether Lewis. Interesting stop, although, I think the back story about his death, possibly murder, is pretty engrossing.
 
Slow and I actually like that. Many places to stop and see stuff. You definitely want to have the mindset to take your time. One of the pluses is that you go right through a few towns and don't have to deal with city traffic. Like Jackson.

If you are an Elvis fan, stop in Tupelo and visit his birthplace.
 
Slow and I actually like that. Many places to stop and see stuff. You definitely want to have the mindset to take your time. One of the pluses is that you go right through a few towns and don't have to deal with city traffic. Like Jackson.

If you are an Elvis fan, stop in Tupelo and visit his birthplace.

No stopping while riding through town is a real benefit. But it is somewhat offset by RV's, tourists and road construction. We were directed off twice that involved quite a tangled maze to get back on. We rode the entire 444 miles sans any detours, and glad we did it, but I probably wouldn't do it again. I'm not trying to discourage, I think everyone should be forced to do it once. :-)

Oh, make sure to plan your fuel stops and food, you will have to get off the Trace and go into a town to do that, there are no stores or restaurants actually on the Trace.
 
Slow and I actually like that. Many places to stop and see stuff. You definitely want to have the mindset to take your time....

Mindset it the key to enjoying the Trace. Altho I've only completed various stretches of it, the Trace it is great ride on a TW200 or sidecar rig.
get-photo.asp
 
Is the Trace a great ride? I guess it is depending on one's perspective. I am not all about speed and curves, sometimes I just like to set the cruise control, turn up the music, put my feet up on the highway pegs and just enjoy the ride. Very little traffic, no stop signs, no traffic lights, just a nice scenic ride.

That's kind of what I had in mind. Each day we're on it is about 180 or 200 miles, not going to ride the whole thing. Figured I'd be making quite a few stops. I've got the parks map and it gives mile marker stop locations. We've highlighted several to stop at. Didn't know if the mile markers are accurate, to save the turning around aspect, cause that never is fun?

If there is an exit, will there be gas or eats? Course at 50 mph I'll bet I could ride about 225+miles on a tank, which would be about the whole planned day.

Thought about visiting the Elvis birthplace, since we'll be stopping in Tupelo.

Yea, planning on riding in July/August, is it very shady? Yea it'll be hotter than 'double hockey sticks', but where isn't it if you're in the South :rofl:
 
That's kind of what I had in mind. Each day we're on it is about 180 or 200 miles, not going to ride the whole thing. Figured I'd be making quite a few stops. I've got the parks map and it gives mile marker stop locations. We've highlighted several to stop at. Didn't know if the mile markers are accurate, to save the turning around aspect, cause that never is fun?

If there is an exit, will there be gas or eats? Course at 50 mph I'll bet I could ride about 225+miles on a tank, which would be about the whole planned day.

Thought about visiting the Elvis birthplace, since we'll be stopping in Tupelo.

Yea, planning on riding in July/August, is it very shady? Yea it'll be hotter than 'double hockey sticks', but where isn't it if you're in the South :rofl:

Here ya go https://www.natcheztracetravel.com/water-and-markets.html
 
I rode 550 miles or so to Natchez a few years ago and made my way to the entrance after dinner in town.
35201437913_71be87dfb6_b.jpg


From the entrance I rode 54 leisurely miles up the Parkway until I reached the Rocky Springs campground. The next day I camped at the Meriwether Lewis grounds after an all day ride up the Trace. I have wanted to return and camp again. And maybe visit Vicksburg this time.
 
Planning on heading that way myself maybe next week. Rode part of the Trace about 14 years ago and it's like everyone has said. Nothing really spectacular but just an easy ride and enjoy type of thing. This time I'm gonna take back roads to Natchez, head up the Trace to Waynesboro then head over to Cherohala Skyway and the BRP. Like you said kind of hot this time of year but hey it is the South. Enjoy your trip.
 
We rode it from Natchez to Nashville a several years back during the sequester. 70-75 mph all the way-thanks Obama! :lol2:

There was a nice little hotel in Houston miss.

Beautiful country, curvier and hillier the closer ya get to the ville. We loved it. No traffic and just a few entrance exit roads.
 
yeliabp, sounds like you'll be following the same way I'm going. Have a safe trip!
 
Rode a chunk of it 2-up last year. It is beautiful, but the 50 mph does make it leisurely. We took it from Jackson to an exit for Starksville. Would have loved to do more, but time was an issue. We plan to do it again sometime. Enjoy!
 
Thank you, I'm starting around Jackson also and going north and plan on lots of stops!
 
One of my favorite little things to do on the Trace is take the 2.5 mile stretch of the original Trace road called the Old Trace Drive.

About 10 miles North of US412 and on the East side of the Trace almost immediately after you cross the Sheboss Rd bridge is a short section of the Trace Rd almost in it's original state. It's a little one-lane, one-way path that follows the original terrain through the hills. Kinda lets you see what is was like to punch a cart through the forest (no motorhomes or trailers plz)

Another one of my little bucket list things I like to tell folks about.

https://www.natcheztracetravel.com/...enwald-summertown-tn/109-old-trace-drive.html

Natchez-Parkway-244.jpg
 
Last edited:
Back
Top