Natchez Trace Parkway
 

Is anyone familiar with this scenic parkway? How bicycle friendly is it? It is supposed to be an incredible drive. It travels from just south of Nashville, TN to Natchez, MS I believe. I haven't been able to gather too much information via Google, about the actual road itself. Anyone in the area (I'm looking at the Nashville end), or with first-hand experience have any insight? Thanks.

I ride the Trace once or twice a week. It is VERY bike friendly. I ride it on Tuesday's after work and Saturday mornings. The Harpeth Bike Club of middle TN has many organized group rides with some on the trace. Check out their website at www.harpethbikeclub.com.

It is probably the most biked roads in central TN so cars and motorcycles are used to us and mostly respectfull. I've been on a group rides where cars will follow the pack for 3 or 4 miles before passing. Great rolling hills with nice pavement and a lot of scenary. 40 mph speed limit so not a lot of traffic. There is no commercial development on the trace so you will only see exits about every 20-30 miles. Plan your ride accordingly. A great place to start is at the intersection of highway 96 and the Trace - just West of Franklin, TN. Here is a link to a photo of the bridge that you can ride across. Awesome views.... http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/eihd/natchez.htm

There are tons of hotels off of I-65 right around Franklin if you are looking for a place to stay. Good luck.

The Trace is my typical ride. I have ridden it between Tupelo(NE Mississippi) and Natchez(SW Mississippi) It is a beautiful ride and not too busy down here, but I am not sure about around Nashville.

Thanks much Nashville Man - I was hoping for a response like that. I will definitely begin planning for at least a weekend trip down there this summer. I have family in the area too, so it should be great. Thanks again for your help.

BTW - More information is welcome!

That's very informative. It's nice to know more about why one of my bikes is called a "Natchez" I figured it was a nice route but I really had nothing for a picture in my mind. That bridge is fantastic.

I would guess you know something about why another bike I have is called a "Pisgah" I think that is a Forest, or a trail, or both?

I think the Pisgah is a forest somewhere in the Carolina's. Not really sure.

Yes the bridge is cool. The ride up the hill to it is a killer though! The guardrails on the bridge are only 3 feet tall and you can really feel the sidewind hit you when you shoot downhill out of the trees across it. Not a place to loose your line!

It's a forest, etc. See http://ncnatural.com/NCUSFS/Pisgah/

Dependent upon where you're headed you could also check out the Long Leaf Trace - it's a rails - trails ride that runs from Hattiesburg, MS (University of Southern MS) for about 45 miles to the Northwest (not sure of the ending town). You can check it out at www.longleaftrace.com I haven't had a chance to ride it yet, but know several people who have and they all say it's great - no traffic and all asphalt.

c.

Fall on the Trace is magical. Otherwise, once you've seen 50 miles or so of it, you've pretty much seen it all.

I did the southern half of the Trace a couple of years ago. Very nice.

Here's a link that started about the Mountains of NC, but a few posts down it goes into the Trace....

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=natchez+trace