Natchez Trace NST is different from the other 10 NSTs in two major ways. First, the trail, which ran from Nashville to Natchez, dates back 10,000 years and so was not specifically created for 20th Century+ hikers (see history below). Most of the trail was either destroyed by logging/farmland or now lies within private property boundaries. The five surviving portions of the historic Natchez Trace are the designated NST and are administered by the NPS. Second, the other NSTs have road walks which are officially part of those Scenic Trails. The 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway, which runs roughly parallel to most of the old Trace, is NOT considered part of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail. The NPS considers a hike of the NST to consist of hiking the five existing sections, no hiking the Parkway needed.
Most (all?) other hikers who say they have done the Natchez Trace NST have also hiked the Parkway (though to be more accurate, they should hike all the way into Nashville and Natchez since the Parkway isn’t quite as long as the old Trace). I have chosen not to do this, because that isn’t necessary according to the Park Service. I am conservatively between 6500-7000 miles hiked right now. By the end of my travels, I should be well over 35,000. I don’t mind skipping the unnecessary Parkway.
For transparency, when I list the Natchez Trace NST as part of my hiking accomplishments, I will have an asterisk and a clear explanation that I did not hike the Parkway.
History: Natchez, Chickasaw, and Choctaw peoples and their ancestors used the route for trade and travel dating back 10,000 years. Late 1700s/early 1800s, northern traders walked home after selling their wares and their boats in Natchez. Army troops traveled the Trace in the 1800s. Slaves were marched along the Trace to Natchez slave markets. The Trace was considered a US Postal Route in the early 1800s.
Potkopinu section. January 12, 2025. 3.5 miles in southern MS. Longest stretch of “sunken” Trace. Loess soil combined with thousands of years of walkers created sunken portions of trail. Well marked and easy to follow, though I could see this being more difficult in the summer with higher vegetation.
Rocky Springs section. January 13, 2025. Ack. Upper section above campground currently closed. 2.5-mile section below campground is open, but wow. Tried to head south from campground only to run into closed signs. Then headed north toward the campground from Owen’s Creek. Trail has not been maintained since God was a baby. Could follow the trail with care, up and down steep embankments and on and off the Parkway, for about a mile, then the trail disappeared into blowdowns and vegetation. I whacked my way toward the campground, along where I thought the trail was supposed to be, until I felt I was close to the closed northern portions, then I whacked to the Parkway and walked the road back to my car. Did my best, hope I got most of the actual trail.
Yockanookany section. January 16-18, 2025.
This 23-mile section is a mixed bag. The southernmost 7.7 miles are well maintained and easy walking. The next three miles (going north) are easy enough to follow though not in the best of shape. After that, there are one-mile+ pockets of trail here and there where the brush has been flattened and the path widened, and wood is piled in various spots for future bridgework. It is apparent, from these miles, that the Park Service is working on improving the Yockanookany section which, according to hiker reports from years past, used to be one 23-mile mess of blowdowns and flooding.
There are still miles of tangled thorns, toppled trees, demolished bridges, and impassable parts. I approached Yockanookany from all the Parkway access points and hiked what I could, climbing up and down stream banks, tearing up my pants, and almost killing my ankle by stepping right through a rotted plank on a spongy boardwalk. Took me three days to cover as much as I could going in and out of the woods.
