Natchez Trace Parkway

Do you care about exploring, learning about, and protecting the Natchez Trace? If yes, become a Junior Ranger! There are many ways to be a Junior Ranger badge at Natchez Trace Parkway, and this fun activity book is a great place to start.

Birding on the Natchez Trace Parkway

The Natchez Trace Parkway manages three campgrounds along the length of the 444-mile Parkway. The three Parkway campgrounds are free, primitive, and available on a first come, first serve basis. They do not offer electricity, showers, or dump stations. The maximum stay at our campgrounds is 14 days combined throughout the year.

The Trail of Tears began in May 1838 when Federal troops and state militias began to round up the Cherokee into stockades. In spite of warnings to troops to treat the Cherokee kindly, the round up proved harrowing. Families were separated and people were given only moments to collect cherished possessions. White looters followed, ransacking homesteads as Cherokee were led away. The Trail of Tears crosses the Natchez Trace Parkway in several locations in Alabama and Tennessee.

To learn more about the women who historically worked and lived along the Natchez Trace Parkway, follow these sites from Natchez, MS, up to Nashville, TN, or vice versa. There is no designated starting or finishing place. A milepost and some brief history is given for each site you may visit.

HEY DOGS!!! Do you want to proudly wear the BARK Ranger dog tag? We made it easy for a human to help you get one, and you both can have fun while earning it.

Experience a blend of nature and civilization on the Beech Springs Nature Trail next to the Parkway Visitor Center at milepost 266. This quest, a sort of visual scavenger hunt, leads you to consider the benefits and consequences of places where nature merges with civilization. The QUESTions do not have right or wrong answers but hopefully will inspire you to learn more. If you would like additional input from a ranger, stop by the visitor center.

The Meriwether Lewis monument marks the final resting place of famed American explorer Meriwether Lewis who died by suicide near by at Grinder's Stand on October 11, 1809.

This is a guide to help identify what wildflowers might be blooming when in what parts of the Natchez Trace Parkway.