Why Bike the Natchez Trace Parkway? Side trails: antebellum and victorian homes, sunken roads, civil war battlefields and southern towns

The 444 mile long Natchez Trace Parkway stretches from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. Why bike (or drive) the Natchez Trace Parkway?

Reason #9: Numerous side trails take you past antebellum and victorian homes, sunken roads, civil war battlefields and southern towns.

Cyclists can bike off the Natchez Trace onto numerous country back roads where you will see a slice of  the modern day south and remnants of what the south looked like before the Civil War when the area was known as the "Old Southwest".

As we have pointed out in a couple of our other "Ten reasons why the Natchez Trace Parkway is an excellent bike route" the Trace for the most part travels through rural areas of Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. It is easy to bike off the Trace onto lightly traveled back roads.

There are several "loop routes" where you can start your ride on the Trace, bike on the Trace, exit the Trace onto a back road, bike past interesting sites and attractions, re-enter the Trace, and bike back to where you started.

For example, 15 miles north of Natchez you can start your bike route at Mount Locust on the Trace, bike south on the Trace for about 5 miles, exit onto Mississippi Highway 553, bike over to Emerald Mound, continue north on 553 past several antebellum homes, the historic town of Church Hill and Springfield Plantation (where Andrew and Rachel Jackson were married), back to the Trace and bike five miles south back to Mount Locust.

Glen Wanner's book Bicycling the Natchez Trace describes in detail several loop routes and other cycling routes located close to the Trace.

Many of the major "off the Trace" attractions, like Windsor Ruins (pictured above), Shiloh National Military Park, Elvis Presley's Birthplace and Vicksburg National Military Park are mentioned on NatchezTraceTravel.com with a description, pictures, directions from the Trace and a locator map.

This is just one of 10 reasons why the Natchez Trace Parkway is an excellent bike route:

1. National Park Service designates the entire parkway as a bike route. Numerous signs instruct cars to share the road with bicycles.
2. Commercial traffic is prohibited.
3. Maximum speed limit for cars is 50 mph.
4. Motorized traffic is generally very light except around Tupelo and Jackson.
5. No stop signs or stop lights. Access on and off the Trace is via on/off ramps which means no need to worry about cross traffic.
6. Scenery is awesome. Instead of utility poles and buildings, the Trace is lined with forests, farmland, creeks and beautiful vistas.
7. All along the Trace through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee, historical and nature attractions offer interesting breaks and rest stops.
8. Restroom facilities on the Trace are available about every twenty miles.
9. Numerous side trails take you past antebellum and victorian homes, sunken roads, civil war battlefields and southern towns.
10. There are many "cycling friendly" bed and breakfasts located along and near the Trace.