Natchez Trace Parkway
A National Park Service parkway built along an ancient trail used by Native Americans, running 715 km from Natchez on the Mississippi River to Nashville, with no traffic lights or billboards along the entire route.
The Natchez Trace Parkway is administered by the National Park Service. It roughly follows an ancient trail used by Native Americans that linked the lower Mississippi River and the Tennessee River. In the early 19th century, it was the main road for boatmen who floated downriver and then walked back north. Construction of the parkway began in 1938, and the full route was completed in 2005. It runs from Natchez, Mississippi, in the south, through Jackson, Tupelo and the northwest corner of Alabama, to the southwest of Nashville, Tennessee, in the north. It is 444 miles (715 km) long. Commercial trucks are banned throughout, and there are no traffic lights or billboards. Highlights: antebellum plantation homes in Natchez; Emerald Mound, the second-largest earthen mound in North America; sections of the old trail that you can walk along in a sunken path; Tupelo, Elvis Presley's birthplace; the Chickasaw Village Site; the grave of Meriwether Lewis; waterfalls in Tennessee and the Birdsong Hollow double-arch bridge, completed in 1994; and near the end, the town of Franklin and Nashville. The speed limit is 50 mph. It takes 3 to 4 days. It is one of the most popular long-distance cycling routes in the United States, so watch out for cyclists. There are no gas stations along the route, so you will need to go into nearby towns to refuel. Deer are common at night.