Natchez Trace Parkway—The Road of 10,000 Years

It’s a thrill to ride down a historical road. Knowing that you’re traversing the same trail that those who shaped our history did is a special feeling.

If you’re looking for this kind of thrill, you can’t do better than getting on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

This 444-mile scenic route stretches out between Natchez, MS, in the south and Nashville, TN, in the north. Between them, it briefly plows through Alabama as well.

Back when the first feet drudged along this route, however, those states—never mind the United States—weren’t there. The Natchez Trace Parkway follows the Old Natchez Trace, which has been an important traffic avenue for at least 10,000 years.

The first users of this route weren’t even human. Long, long ago, prehistoric animals migrated along the ridgeline that Natchez Trace straddles today to avoid the surrounding ancient wetlands.

Following in their wake—first for hunting and then also for trade—came Native American peoples, such as the Natchez, Choctaw, and Chickasaw. Connecting the Cumberland and Mississippi rivers, the Natchez Trace became a well-established route between various Native American domains.