Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
From approximately 1800 to 1830, the Natchez Trace was used by farmers of the middle
Tennessee area in order to return home after bringing their goods down the Mississippi River
to market in Natchez. The farmers would build longboats to carry their crops to Natchez;
once they arrived, they would sell the crops. Because it was very difficult to pole the boats
back upriver, they dismantled the boats, sold the wood, and walked or rode horseback up the
Natchez Trace to their homes in middle Tennessee. The early years of this era showed the
travelers great hardship with few provisions or waystations on the route and ready highway-
men lurking along the way. Nonetheless, the Trace was the best way back to Tennessee. The
Trace had a prior history as an Indian trail and a route of the pioneering traders, and after the
days of the boatmen were over, the Trace was used as a post road and a military road.
Nowadays, this route is a scenic parkway, and the preserved areas along it provide a num-
ber of special birding opportunities. One can bird practically the length of Mississippi by
traveling this single road. Spring brings wildflowers, particularly dogwood, and northbound
migrant bird species; autumn brings lovely colors to the hardwoods, and southbound mi-
grants. Taking a few days to travel the Natchez trace through Mississippi and Alabama can
be a very worthwhile trip.
The Trace goes through countless woodlands, both pine and hardwood, and through many
fields and pastures. Any of the wooded areas are likely spots for the woodland species that oc-
cur in this area, and the open areas should be watched for eastern meadowlark, northern bob-
white, eastern bluebird, loggerhead shrike, and eastern kingbird; also look for horned lark,
hawks, and kestrels in the winter. Scan the bare fields for water pipit in winter. Be careful
while driving as deer are common along and on the road, and deer-car collisions are one of
the major sources of accidents along the Trace.
Although there are many more areas along the Trace to stop and to do some birding, the
following spots are my favorites, and they will give you a good sampling of the various hab-
itats along the route. I have arranged this listing in a south-to-north direction of travel, as
that is the way the Trace was originally traveled and it is the way the roadway's mileage is
numbered. As the Park Service has not yet completed acquisition and construction of three
segments of the parkway, some mileages simply do not exist yet. The three missing pieces
of the parkway are the first few miles at Natchez, the route through Jackson, and the final
miles near Nashville. The parkway begins at mile 8.1, the temporary terminus near Natchez.
Because it is such a small portion of the Trace and because I wish to treat the parkway as a
unit, I am including the Alabama portion of the parkway here in the Mississippi section of
the topic.
