Natchez Trace Parkway by Road Bike

Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi to Tennessee · United States

Moderate7 daysNorth America~£700 est.

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Overview

The Natchez Trace Parkway is 715km of commercial-traffic-free tarmac from Natchez, Mississippi to just south of Nashville, Tennessee, shadowing a footpath used for 10,000 years by Choctaw and Natchez people, boatmen walking home from New Orleans, and the highwaymen who preyed on them. No lorries, no billboards, a 50mph limit: the easiest long-distance road tour in America to love. The moments that stick are quiet ones — wheels humming past the sunken Trace where two centuries of feet wore the path below ground level, dawn mist on the Cypress Swamp boardwalk, and the double-arched bridge at Birdsong Hollow lifting you 47m above the valley on the final day. The catch is services: the Parkway itself has almost none, so you leave it for food and beds in towns like Port Gibson, Kosciusko and Tupelo, and some gaps demand 90km between resupply. Three free bicycle-only campgrounds help the budget. Fly into Jackson via connections or start from New Orleans with a bus to Natchez. Seven days at around 100km/day suits a fit tourer. Budget roughly £700 in motels and diners. Ride spring for dogwood blossom or October for colour; summer is a steam bath.