Illustration of two small motorcyclists seen from behind on a quiet two-lane parkway through spring woods and morning mist
Touring

The Natchez Trace by Motorcycle: 444 Miles Without Hurrying

A retired surveyor's Natchez Trace Parkway motorcycle ride over four slow days, with ride facts and fuel notes from the National Park Service.

By Walt Dunmore

This story is not medical advice. The facts about the road (length, mileposts, rules and services) come from the National Park Service pages linked in the post.

Yes, you can ride a motorcycle on the Natchez Trace Parkway, and the National Park Service says it welcomes motorcycle riders. My brother-in-law Gene and I took a Natchez Trace Parkway motorcycle trip in April, four days from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee.

I'm 67. Gene is 68 and had never ridden more than a hundred miles in a day. I spent 41 years as a county road surveyor, so I worried about three things, in this order: the curves, the deer and my own patience. The Park Service lists tight curves and deer among its hazards. Patience took all four days.

The Trace is 444 miles long, the speed limit is 50 mph unless posted, and commercial vehicles are prohibited. I rode my Gold Wing, which I call the Wing. Gene rode his bike. We rode slowly on purpose.

Key Takeaways

Day one: Natchez to Clinton, past an old inn and a sunken road

Day one was about a hundred miles, with two stops that taught me more about the Old Trace than any map had.

The Trace has mileposts, which pleased me. The Park Service says there are only 442 of them on a 444-mile road and nobody remembers why. I took that personally.

Gene rode in front. It was his first long day and his pace, and I wasn't going to argue.

Mount Locust, at milepost 15.5, was a crude inn on the Old Trace. The Park Service says boatmen walking home paid 25 cents there for corn mush, milk and a place to sleep on the porch, and that a cemetery on the grounds holds the remains of 43 enslaved people. Gene took his helmet off before I did.

At milepost 41.5 we took the five-minute walk along the Sunken Trace, where the Park Service says travelers on foot, on horseback and in wagons wore the path down into soft loess soil. I have spent my life worrying about where water goes on a road, and this road had lowered itself below the land around it.

Fuel was the other lesson. The Trace has none, and the Park Service's list of exits puts stations in towns nearby. Gene's bike goes a shorter way on a tank than the Wing, so his tank set our schedule. We topped off at the MS 18 exit near milepost 41; the list shows no fuel after it until Raymond at milepost 79.

We left the Trace for Clinton near milepost 87. The trip meter read about a hundred miles, exactly as far as Gene had ever gone in a day. He ate two dinners and slept in his clothes.

Illustration of a sunken old trail with steep earthen banks, exposed tree roots and fresh spring leaves overhead

Day two: a 200-mile Natchez Trace Parkway motorcycle day

Day two was the long one, and I had planned it that way. Clinton to the Mantachie exit near milepost 282 came to about 200 miles with the side trips. Gene studied the map over breakfast and cut the day into four legs of about fifty miles. "Four fifties," he said. I told him any town on the way was a fine place to stop, and I meant it.

Before we left, I read the Park Service's Road and Site Status page, and I read it again every morning after that.

We didn't roll out until half past nine. The Park Service says traffic is heaviest on weekdays at commute times in the Jackson area, mileposts 87 to 105, and two men with nowhere to be had no business joining it.

I counted semi-trucks out of habit and got to zero, since commercial vehicles are barred. Forty-one years of watching what loaded trucks do to a road made that restful.

We passed two bicyclists that morning. The Park Service asks drivers to pass by changing lanes when the oncoming lane is clear, so Gene hung back until it was, then went around wide. I was proud of him and didn't say so.

The Park Service's motorcycle tips warn about decreasing-radius curves, the ones that tighten as you go. I have drawn a few. I didn't enjoy meeting one on two wheels, and Gene slowed for every one.

We bought fuel near milepost 103 and again at French Camp at milepost 180.8, where we ate at a lunch counter. Around milepost 230, Gene started opening and closing his fingers on the grips, and my back began a conversation I chose not to join. We took the next break at a picnic table and stayed until both of us wanted to ride again.

We went by Tupelo after two, well clear of the commute traffic that the Park Service says builds at mileposts 258 to 268, and fueled at an exit there.

At the end of the 200 miles: what Gene said

Gene's first 200-mile day nearly ended at a plain picnic table under some oaks, not far short of our exit. That was all either of us wanted.

We set our helmets and jackets on the table. Gene sat and said nothing for a while. Then he showed me his trip meter the way a man shows you a fish. It read 204.

"Double," he said. "Double what I've ever done."

"Four fifties," I said.

"Nobody was behind me," he said. "All day. I kept waiting for somebody to want past."

I told him the Park Service keeps the trucks off, posts 50 and says traffic is low in most places, so there was seldom anyone back there to want past.

"Did you want past?" he asked.

"No," I said, and found I meant it. For 41 years I laid out roads for people in a hurry. I had forgotten what it felt like to be on one that didn't mind when I got there.

We stayed until the sun came in low through the pines. The Park Service says deer and turkeys can step out without warning, most of all at dusk and dawn, and I wanted us in before either. We rode the last miles to the Mantachie exit in good light and found a motel and a lunch counter that served supper.

Illustration of an empty picnic table with two helmets and two jackets beside a quiet road in warm evening light

Days three and four: short rides into Tennessee

Days three and four were short on purpose. Gene came to breakfast walking like a man carrying two buckets, and neither of us mentioned it. We rode about a hundred miles with long stops and reached the Meriwether Lewis site at milepost 385.9 in the middle of the afternoon.

The Park Service says the explorer died on the Old Trace in 1809 and is buried there, and that the monument's shaft is broken on purpose to stand for a life that ended too soon. Gene walked around it twice, and neither of us said anything clever.

We found a motel in Hohenwald. On the fourth morning we rode the last stretch to the northern end of the Trace near Nashville, and nobody was in a hurry to arrive. Gene did the arithmetic one more time. "Nine fifties," he said. "Near enough." I told him that was the best description of 444 miles I had heard. He asked about next April. I said I'd think about it. I had already thought about it.

Ride facts: Natchez Trace Parkway

These facts come from National Park Service (NPS) pages read on 2026-11-09. Some of them change, so check the status page before you ride.

Fact Detail Source
Length and mileposts 444 miles, from milepost 0 near Natchez, Mississippi, to milepost 444 near Nashville, Tennessee, through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Mileposts are 3-foot brown posts on the east side of the road; subtract the number from 444 for the distance to the northern end NPS FAQ, NPS Insider Tips, NPS motorcycle tips
Speed, vehicles and traffic 50 mph unless otherwise posted; commercial vehicles are prohibited. Weekday commute traffic builds in the Jackson area (mileposts 87 to 105) and the Tupelo area (mileposts 258 to 268) NPS FAQ
Fuel, food and camping No commercial services on the Parkway. The NPS list (last updated September 15, 2022) shows fuel at the MS 18 exit, milepost 41.3, then next at Raymond, milepost 79. Three free, first-come campgrounds are on the Parkway NPS Eating & Sleeping
Named stops Mount Locust, milepost 15.5; Sunken Trace, milepost 41.5; Meriwether Lewis site, milepost 385.9 Mount Locust, Sunken Trace, Meriwether Lewis
Weather and road status Sub-tropical, with frequent rain and storms that can build suddenly; snow or ice can show up in winter. Closures and detours happen often and are posted on the NPS status page NPS Insider Tips, NPS Road and Site Status

Practical notes for riders, based on the NPS pages above:

  • Check the NPS Road and Site Status page before you leave and again each morning for weather and construction closures and detours.
  • Fill up before you enter the Parkway and at the town exits that fit your tank range; the NPS exit list dates from 2022, so treat it as a guide.
  • Plan the Jackson and Tupelo stretches outside weekday commute hours, as the NPS suggests.
  • Slow down before curves that tighten, ride single file near the middle of the lane, and scan the roadside for deer and turkeys, as the NPS motorcycle tips say. The NPS adds that another animal may be following the first.
  • Save the Parkway section of the NPS's free app before you go, because the NPS says cell coverage is weak or missing in places.

More long-day planning notes are on the Hexrider long-distance riding blog.

Questions riders ask about the Natchez Trace Parkway

Can you ride a motorcycle on the Natchez Trace Parkway?

Yes. The NPS says it welcomes motorcycle riders and publishes safety tips for them. It reports an average of 50 motorcycle crashes a year on the Parkway and names tight curves, narrow lanes, limited shoulders and wildlife as the reasons to adjust your riding.

How long does it take to ride the Natchez Trace Parkway?

The NPS pages give different driving times for the 444 miles: about 10 hours on Insider Tips, at least 10 on the FAQ and more than 11 on the history page. The NPS suggests adding time for stops, and Gene and I took four days.

Are there gas stations on the Natchez Trace Parkway?

No. The NPS says that by design there are no commercial services on the Parkway. Fuel is in towns near the exits, and the NPS exit list dates from September 2022, so confirm a station before you count on it.

From the Hexrider team

Hexrider sells the Hexcushion, so read this section with that in mind. This story does not involve any product; Hexrider makes the Hexcushion seat pad for riders who put in long days. You can read what riders say in the rider reviews and the terms on the refund policy page.

About this blog

You can find more road stories on the Hexrider touring blog; learn more on the about page or reach the team on the contact page.

Sources

Keep reading
Back to all stories