I agree the 50 mph sucks, but honestly I find that you can get by with 55 and not a glance by LEO in most areas which I admit is not much better. As I said I have ridden it end to end a couple times but mostly just ride it for short trips in and around Jackson MS. Hop on for a 20 mile trip north to a nice little bar/grill where are usually 10-30 bikes gathered on the weekends or maybe a leisurely short trip south to Natchez. I usually ride it to get away from the lights/stop signs in the heat of the summer. Given the choice to ride it for a couple hundred miles or take another route, I will take the other route mainly due to the 50 mph law

 

the only time I ever rode 50 mph was near the towns. I prefer 65-70. Federal cut backs have reduced patrol by 85 percent. But watch out for deer!

 

You have to remember it's a "Park" not a thoroughfare. That why its managed by the National Park Service.

If your intent is to get from point A to point B then the Natchez Trace is not the way.

What it is made and designed for is excellent.

 

this makes no sense, point A is Natchez and point B is Nashville. It is a long road that almost follows the old Natchez trace. With a slow speed limit, after the first 5 minutes the scenery doesn't change, might as well be a loop.

It is very nice and relaxing, just don't be in a hurry.

 

I love riding the Trace. Very peaceful. If you want entertaining go ride the BRP or Dragon. If in Muscle Shoals, visit the Coondog Graveyard. Very weird place to go. And when you start playing "yeah, well have you been to..." Very few have the Coondog ticket punched.


To the west of the trace is Clarksdale, Ms. Home of the Delta Blues Museum. If you like the blues this is a must see stop. Then right across the street to the right while facing the museum is the Ground Zero Blues Club. From the outside this is the most decrepit looking place you might see. Not to worry, the inside is even worst. Great blues, good food.


Ground Zero is for the junction of highway 61 and 49. This is where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil and became a great blues player, so the story goes.


The Trace is filled with history but you have to let it come to you. Historic plantations, juke joints, sunken trace, fried green tomatoes, museums, recording studios and coondogs. If you're bored you have no imagination.

 

I've ridden the Trace both directions a number of times. While it's not the BRP, PCH, Angeles Crest, Beartooth or Deal's Gap it is one of those "must ride" roads in my opinion. What the Trace lacks in curvy excitement it makes up for it with history. The road accommodates that by creating a pace that allows for exploration.

Native American history? Check

Civil War history? Check

Music history? Check

My wife has also ridden it end to end as she is originally from NOLA. On our trip down the Trace in 2013 we stopped at a number of music history locations. One such location was the old Muscle Shoals Studio where Lynyrd Skynyrd recorded several albums.

We also visited Elvis Presley's home and the hardware store where his mother bought his first guitar. The store is still owned by the same family.

The infamous crossroads where Robert Johnson reportedly sold his soul as well.


The Loveless Cafe just outside Nashville


Muscle Shoals Studio


Me listening to the "Simple Man" that was recorded in the building I'm sitting in front of


My wife after completing the end to end trip



I'm headed back to NOLA later this month and may take the Trace back north on the 27th of September or so.

 

Thanks for the replies. I managed to get a couple more days off work, so I'm leaving Marshalltown, IA, around 9 am on 9/30 and hope to find a place to pitch a tent around Nashville that night. Then off to Maggie Valley and onward toward Tallahasse.
I only get friday evening and the weekend with my son as he is saving vacation days up to come home for 2 wks over Christmas
I plan on riding the entire Natchez Trace on my way back home. I can't wait.

 

While it is true that Clarksdale is to the west of the Trace it is about a 2hr one way side trip

 

I've never ridden the Natchez Trace so I won't comment on it one way or the other. I am however very familiar with Maggie Valley, Deals Gap, Robinsville, the Smokies, The Blue Ridge Parkway and on and on. IMO if I have an extra couple days going from Iowa to Florida I wouldn't spend my time making a huge detour to ride the Trace instead I'd ride the mountains of North Carolina! The riding in that area rivals any in the country. Each road is better then the last and you can't make a wrong turn. All the named roads like the Dragon, Cherahola Skyway, Moonshiner 28, The Diamondback, the Rattler and the un-named roads. Roads you've never heard of, roads you stumble on by mistake, roads you discover getting to perceived better roads. Whether you're there a day or a month you won't be able to wipe the smile off your face and you'll never get bored!!

 

be riding the trace from waterloo to Nashville after the trail o tears ride tomorrow