“Why on Earth would you want to road walk 450 miles?!” – exclaimed my hiking friend as I share that I’d like to thru-hike all the National Scenic Trails, including the Natchez Trace Trail. Since they never heard of the Natchez Trace before, they asked more about this trail. They weren’t impressed. 😂 It doesn’t surprise me that this National Scenic Trial (NST) isn’t on more hikers’ radar, considering it’s not a hiking trail, but instead geared towards bicyclists and motorists. Before I delve into why this NST has caught my curiosity, lets look a bit into the history of the original Natchez Trace Trail.
Natchez Trace Parkway and Natchez Trace Trail – Historical Origins
The Natchez Trace Trail was created and traveled by various indigenous tribes, namely the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations, for centuries before early European settlers moved into the area. In the early 1800s the trail use was expanded by early European settlers to include wagon travel. However, the Natchez Trace gained even more popularity, along with increased use, during the period where flatboats were used to float goods down the river. After the boatmen floated down the river and deposited their goods, they then would hike back upriver towards home. As time passed and steamboats gained popularity for both transporting goods and people, the trail was abandoned to nature in the following decades.
In the 1930s, the federal government began construction of the current paved roadway, the Natchez Trace Parkway. This 444-mile scenic parkway roughly follows or runs parallel to the original Natchez Trace Trail from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. There are numerous historical sites, short hiking side trails, and campgrounds dotted along the way.
Natchez Trace Trail Thru-Hike – 444 Mile Road Walk or 65 Miles?
Alright! Historical lesson complete. 😉 So why has this trail caught my attention? I have questions. Lots of them. Because of the seemingly contradicting information, and the lack of resources geared towards hikers, this trail has caught my curiosity. Basically, I’m trying to gauge how safe it is to thru-hike, in the future, and what resources are available to me. Here’s a snapshot of the question storm raging in my brain:
- Is the official Natchez Trace trail 444 miles or 65 miles? – confused by the NPS website and conflicting NST maps
- Has anyone thru-hiked the trail? If so, who? Did they share their journey?
- Who hikes in Mississippi? Where are all the hikers?
- How strong is the cycling community on the Natchez? If there aren’t any hikers around, how many cyclists are in the area to connect with/travel along side?
444 Mile Road Walk or 65 Miles? What’s the official National Scenic Trail Route?
As an aspiring thru-hiker of this NST, I became immediately confused when I tried to confirm the official route distance. One source claimed the distance was 65 miles, and the other showed the whole 444 mile parkway. As I delved deeper into the discrepancy, here’s my conclusion; they’re both right.
The National Park System states: “Today the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail consists of five separate sections–over 60 miles–developed for hiking and horseback riding”. On the main landing page for NSTs, though, it states: “65 miles in MS”. These sections of trail are, technically, the official hiking trail system for the Natchez Trace. However, the NST map at USGS shows the full Natchez Trace Parkway as the official NST for that region.
As I reviewed both the sources above, along with speaking to a couple of previous and future NST thru-hikers, a common consensus appeared. At the moment, the consensus of a successful thru-hike of the Natchez Trace is the following: hike all of the official NST sections of the trail in Mississippi, and road walk any and all gaps between them from Natchez, MS to the end near Nashville, TN. For now, that is the current thru-hike route I’m planning for with the Natchez Trace.
Has anyone thru-hiked the trial? If so, who?
Yes. While, the NPS mainly advertises this trail to bicyclists, there are a handful of hikers who’ve completed the whole 444 miles. In spring 2020, Constantine of Hiking America, attempted a FKT of the Natchez Trace. He successfully thru-hiked the trail in 14 days, and vlogged the whole journey on Youtube.
Through conversations with Apple Pie, she mentioned a few other (male) hikers have thru hiked the Natchez Trace in the past. However, none of those hikers publicly shared their journeys on the internet. At this moment, I have no knowledge of a woman thru hiking the Natchez Trace. In the next few years, Apple Pie intends to thru hike the Natchez Trace, as she’s on her way of becoming the first woman to thru hike all the NSTs.
Who hikes in Mississippi? Where are all the hikers?
“Who hikes in Mississippi?” I pondered in a video a few months ago. I’d stumbled upon an interesting, new-to-me phenomenon: Mississippi has no hikers? Why? Where did they go? Where are they?
This observation occurred in the beginning stages of my research into the Natchez Trace Trail. I quickly found that the hiking community around this trail is virtually non-existent, especially in Mississippi. Which makes sense. Who would want to hike a road?
To my surprise, not only were hikers absent, but trail maintenance associations/volunteer groups were, too. In my brief research of other NSTs, usually there are links to various trail maintenance crews for volunteer opportunities, but the Natchez Trace had none (to my knowledge). Again, this initially makes sense. If 90% of the trail is a roadway, then a steady stream of trail maintenance crews isn’t needed.
However, here’s the thing…the whole parkway has numerous side trails, like the one above, that branch off the parkway from Mississippi to Tennessee. In fact, if you were going to bump into other hikers along the Natchez Trace, the place you’ll find them the most is in Tennessee. When I quick typed in various hashtags of #natcheztrace #natcheztracetrail, etc, on Instagram and the same search terms in Youtube, usually hikers in the Tennessee sections will pop up. However, only a few hikers popped up for the Mississippi and Alabama areas of the trail.
At the moment I don’t have answers to my questions about where all the hikers in Mississippi disappeared to, but it’s nice to know that once I hit Tennessee, there’s a bit of a trail community I can link up with. 😀 If you hike in Mississippi, anywhere in Mississippi, please let me know below. I’m curious about what it’s like for the hiking community there. 😊
No Hikers? What about the cyclists?
To quell my anxiety of road walking 444 miles with drivers zipping by and camping alone, I expanded my research of the Natchez Trace to include the biking community. Since the NPS and the local communities actively cater to and advertise the trail to cyclists, the Natchez Trace has become a popular route for bike packers (like thru hikers, but on bikes). After viewing a few Youtube videos of previous bike packer trips, including my favorite from Now What Is She Doing, I’m relieved that I won’t be in the elements completely alone.
In the future, while I’m hiking/road walking the Natchez Trace, I may be able to loosely make friends with various bike packers as they head north. This helps create a sense of safety and security. Although some campgrounds are only accessible by car or bicycle, due to their distance from the parkway, I’ll still have opportunities to camp with others at night, if I wish to. 😊
Are you ready to hike the Natchez Trace?
Ah, now we’re at the end of my curiosity adventure of the Natchez Trace Trail. Although the Natchez Trace isn’t the most scenic trail for thru-hikers, hopefully my ramblings of my research has peaked your interest in checking out the trail someday. If you’re a cyclist or own a car, this trail is great for visiting the various historical sites and beautiful mini day hikes along the parkway. If you plan to hike any part of the trail, let me know! I’d love to hear about your travels.
Are you interested in the Natchez Trace and want to learn more? Please see my research resources below that I used for this blog post:
Websites
- Official National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/natt/index.htm and https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm
- Official trail site: http://natcheztrace.org/
- Day hiking the trail: https://www.scenictrace.com/what-to-do/hiking/
Videos
- Great general overview of the Natchez Trace Parkway: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow0ZIcYvqtc
- Two traveling teachers give a short general overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IygnbgFeL2U
- Hiking America: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFIqtV8_rdI&list=PLsVjOgH650jhcSkC2mZPlU8ONYQMSQ24m
- Now What Is She Doing: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZZW29iLxtgR0yhhkDfEFjx5145bfjRW0
Books
- Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway by Tim Jackson
- Traveling the Trace by Cathy and Vernon Summerlin
- The Natchez Trace Historic Trail by William R Sanford (children’s book)
- America’s Great Hiking Trails by Karen Berger (includes all the NSTs)