Gyro_T

We (2 couples) just completed the Natchez Trace from just outside of Nashville to Natchez, MS. Made our own arrangements and saved a bundle. We stayed at historical home B&Bs and a a couple Air B&Bs. We saw almost solely supported riders. In 475 miles we saw only a few self supported riders. We flew home from Baton Rouge. Took our own bikes. It was a smooth trip. Only regret is that I did not see any gators! 11 days riding with about 3.5 days of rain. It was not cold so we were fine. We would take that over the hot temps they had in early Fall.

blowboat

Sounds like an awesome trip! I've been wateching videos and doing some reading on the Trace. Hope to tackle it in a couple of years.

Andrew R Stewart 

I had a couple of customers who did a very lightweight and fast tour along the southern section this early summer. Their thoughts were that it was almost boring with little scenery. I suggested that they were going to fast to notice the small things or engage with people. But I didn't expect much different from the racers they are Andy

JoeyBike

Yeah, the NTP is pretty awesome. I have driven it cars, motorcycles, and bicycles - 6 times pedaling. Bike trips were usually leaving New Orleans or getting back home from much longer tours. NTP was always a great way to warm up for a 7-month cycling tour and a wonderful way to "decompress" as I make my last two weeks heading home.

So glad you had fun on it. Really beautiful and a little boring at times, in a good way! Peaceful!!

mstateglfr 

I went to college in MS and was about 20mi east of the Trace.
Rode a few day rides then and wish i was closer now to do multi-day touring. Really neat area.


gyro t- curious why you chose the Trace over everything else based on your location?

b_young

I was in Jackson MS a few weeks back on business and rode a little of the Trace in the evenings. It is definitely on my to do list.
Did you blog it? I like living vicariously through others.

JoeyBike

You might enjoy this. NTP photos start at about 00:50 (fifty seconds into the video). I also biked much of the NTP on the way back from this trip as well, and those photos are closer to the end of the video. Cheers.

https://vimeo.com/102943338

b_young

Awesome. Thanks
I will be in Paradis LA in January. Last time I rode the MRT under the bridge and found a road heading south which were fun short rides. I may do the lake trail this time. Is there any other good rides around NOLA I should try?

JoeyBike

My favorite is the Tammany Trace that is a Rail-Trail running through bottomland hardwood forest, pine woods, and cypress swamp. Covington, LA to Slidell, LA. Highly recommend it. 30- miles one way.

b_young

Thanks

Gyro_T

We choose the Trace for a number of reasons. We had to get through farming stuff here in eastern Oregon and it starts to get cold here, also three of us had never been to Mississippi, it was reportedly a beautiful tour, and reasonably quiet for 444 miles. The natcheztracetravel.com made it easy to plan out. We are naturalists and history buffs and averaged 43 miles a day over 475 miles of riding. Many organized tours average significantly more miles. We were self supported, but not camping. At that rate we could stop and observe the historical markers and sites of interest. The flattened fauna was quite rich. If you are excited over road kill copperhead and armadillo, being bored is a non issue. The mixed pine-hardwood forest was alive with birds and other life that kept us engaged. We saw only a handful of self supported riders over the length of the route. Our costs staying at elegant B&Bs were about a third of an organized tour. We cooked in and ate out in about equal proportions. It was an amazing trip. Hanging out for a couple days in Baton Rouge at the end was a nice way to unwind from the trip.

Gyro_T

I decided not to blog this time. Just a Google photo album.

Gyro_T

It occurred to me that I should mention our impressions of overall safety. There are guidelines for motorists with regard to the cyclists, however we observed many cases of not strictly adhering to them. The shoulder is in general very narrow, there are many areas of dappled shadows on the road. The wearing of high visibility colors and a bright daytime tail light are strongly recommended.

snappergrass

I was riding with Adventure Cycling on the trace from 10/29-11/4, South to North, might have passed you along the way. Couple cold nights and some rain, but otherwise a nice ride. It looked like it would be pretty easy to set up your own Inn to Inn ride there except for the section from Natchez to Jackson where there's not a lot in between.

JoeyBike

Port Gibson is the place you want. Just a few easy miles off the NTP. Just about half way from Natchez to Jackson. Cheers!

Gyro_T

Yes, we saw the Adventure Cycling group and stopped and chatted with the leader at the van! Too fast paced for us.. Sorry I didn't know or I would of waved

We stayed at Isabella B&B in Port Gibson. Sorry I did not scope out the bayous in Port Gibson with a spot light that night. I hear they catch gators there. That would have topped off the trip for me. The one place we found a gap was between Houston and Kosciusko. We stayed in a motel in Mathiston. It was pretty rough but we made it work. We really enjoyed to county roads going to and from the towns along the NTP.

WaveyGravey

I'm glad I stumbled upon this post. I mentioned my desire to travel this exact same route in another section of this forum but never got a response. I was traveling from Oxford, MS by car and got on the Trace near Tupelo. Drove up a way and stopped at a visitors center. Got a bunch of literature.

I want to travel from Nashville down to Tupelo.

I am anxious to know the stops you made, where you stayed, ate etc. I am not a camper so I would like to plan for hotel/motel or BB.

Thanks

JoeyBike

Or you could purchase detailed bike maps from Adventure Cyclist or the NTP store. They list every store, campground, eatery, hotel, motel, hostel, B&B near the route. This is especially important because there are no billboards allowed on the Trace or advertisements of any type. And you can't see much from the Trace itself. So you really need a map anyway.

Gyro_T

I would be happy to send you an Excel spreadsheet of our stays. Just drop me a personal message and I will attach my itinerary with some notes regarding the places we stayed.

DropBarFan

Pretty good luck with the weather I think, considering this year's weather patterns. Up in mid-Atlantic it got chilly right when rain started to slack off.

Gyro_T

Can't complain too much about three days of rain. Only two days arrived at our stay soaked

The Park Service maps are good, plus they will send you a list where services are at the respective mileposts. Check out https://www.nps.gov/natr/planyourvisit/maps.htm