The Natchez Trace Parkway enjoys a rich history in our nation's development. It is more than just a road.
The Natchez Trace Parkway leads you 444 miles through three states and 10,000 years of North American history.
This scenic parkway links Natchez with Nashville and crosses some of the most beautiful terrain in the states of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. The Parkway was declared a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road, and has been chosen as one of America’s 10 best biking roads. Open year-round for motorists, hikers and bikers, it is a wonderful way to spend a lazy summer day, or fall, or just about anytime. Speed limit is 50 mph, but who would want to go faster? You might miss some of the most wonderful scenery. The shoulders cloaked in woodland and dotted with interesting sites along the way, make you feel like you are driving through a forest of hardwood trees, just as Meriwether Lewis might have seen it when he was there.
After visiting the site of Meriwether Lewis’ death and monument that marks his grave, drive into the downtown area to visit the Lewis County Museum of Natural History. The exhibit on Meriwether Lewis includes the key to the cabin where he died. Exhibits on early American Settlement, the Civil War, and Gordonsburg mining will give you a better understanding of what you will see in Lewis County. The museum also contains one of the largest collections of wild game trophies in the western hemisphere. The recorded voices of Dan and Margaret Maddox, who acquired the collection over half a century, guide you through the exhibits.
Few other places have such a diverse mix of sites all packed into a small area-an Amish and Mennonite settlement and General Store, home to two wineries along the Natchez Trace Wine Trail, working Alpaca and horse farms, a 1960’s commune, antique shops with small town prices, unique clothing and gift stores, specialty restaurants, horseback riding trails, even the nation’s largest natural habitat refuge developed specifically for endangered African and Asian elephants.
