So lost my job and figured I should make some lemonade out of a rather lemony situation. Decided going to do my first significant self supported tour. I have done several overnighters / weekends but no longer rides. Planning on doing Natchez trace parkway out and back from Nasheville in april. Need to go in first part of april...probably first two weeks...maybe even last week of march/first week of april. I am targetting 2 weeks for the full out and back trip as i need to have wife drop/pick me up and she can only do it on weekends. given my current semi out of shapeness could be agressive...but i have some time to work on conditionning and i feel should be probably be doable since would be 65 mile days. If i cant quite make the retun all the way back to nasheville in 2 weeks will just have to have the wife drive down the trace further and pick me up.

Wondering if anyone has experience with the weather / conditions on the the trace during early april? I have looked at average highs/lows and seems like roughly 70/50 for the monthly average (nasheville...slightly warmer more south) Seems like great temperature range from my perspective but wondering if it tends to be rainy/stormy/windy. Anyone with input / thoughts/advice on doing natchez in early april would love the feed back.

cant wait to do it...it looks like a beautiful ride and a perfect choice for longer first self supported ride. I really love that there are basically no directions (Get on road...ride 444 miles...turn around).

thanks

Winds are usually out of the south, so you'll have headwinds on way south, and tailwinds on the way back north. Rain and storms are definite possibilities that time of year, so be prepared.

Have fun!

My wife and I are planning on riding the Trace in mid-March. We are going to ride from Natchez to Nashville then rent a car and drive to Jackson. Then ride back down to Natchez via Vicksburg.

The temps should be fine but rain is possible. There isn't really a rainy season but it is Spring. Be sure to do your research concerning food stops. There are very few services on the Trace other than water.

May I ask, how do you managing the logistics of getting to Natchez? I'm from southwest PA, interested in riding Natchez Trace south to north in March-April.

My thought was to drive my own vehicle to Nashville.
Pick up a rental car, drive it to Jackson, return it at the airport.
Ride the bike south to Natchez to get to the start.

Turn around, ride the length of the trace back to Nashville and my vehicle.
Does anybody have any suggestions? I'd sure appreciate your advice.

Appears to be an Enterprise agency in Natchez as well.

If you have difficulty finding rental cars that allow rental one-way consider renting the smallest uhaul or similar truck. These seem to be more prevalent than car rentals in small towns and are more prepared for one-way rentals.

Some rain, nice riding/sleeping temps, beautiful spring foliage, smooth surface, light traffic. Where else in the country can you find 444 miles of such?

I only rode a short section. Found it somewhat boring, but that's just me. There are plenty of attractions off the sides if you are into history, etc., and have the time. Do advance research for those.

You will probably have one or more nights of frost, even in late March early April... Average last frost in Nashville is April 6th. So you will have to bring some warm clothing and a sleeping bag that goes down to at least 32F. And I would also recommend you have a weather warning radio with you, as that is the time of year when some really nasty thunderstorms can show up....

But other then that, I think late March-early April is a good time of year to do this. Best wishes.