Natchez Trace Parkway Self-Guided Driving Audio Tour

Florence

While many people tend to associate complex, ancient societies with the Egyptian pyramids and Mexico's Mayan temples, there were thriving cultures from that era right here, too.

Muscle Shoals

People in Muscle Shoals like to say that music is in the water there. The area was the birthplace of W. C. Handy, known as “The Father of the Blues.” His home is one of the area’s attractions. Sun Studio and Sun Records owner Sam Phillips, also known as “The Father of Rock and Roll,” was born in Florence, just across the river.

Rock Springs Nature Trail

There's a gem of a spring up ahead and it's well worth seeing. It's along the Rock Spring Nature Trail. We can do a short half-mile loop walking trail to a bubbling spring.

Wilson's Headquarters & Camp Historical Marker

To see their camping site, which by all admissions doesn't comprise much more than a small sign at the historical marker, turn left off the parkway at county road 14 after this small bridge. Otherwise, let's continue driving.

Wichahpi Commemorative Stone Wall

The late Tom Hendrix spent more than 30 years building what has become the largest unmortared wall in the country. The mile-long wall is a monument to Hendrix’s great-great grandmother, Te-lah-nay, and her journey on the Trail of Tears.

Florence Indian Mound and Museum

The Florence Mound and hundreds of others across the Southeast were part of cultural centers where people lived, traded across vast networks and buried their dead. The Florence Mound measures 145 feet by 95 feet near its top.

Laurel Hill Lake

I think this is the first time I'm mentioning fishing on the Trace. Is that our kind of thing? Did you pack rods and reels? If so, we can side trip three miles east to Laurel Hill Lake. This state-managed lake is one of several in Tennessee specifically designed for anglers.

Meriwether Lewis Campground- Natchez Trace

The Meriwether Lewis Campground, one of just three campgrounds on the Parkway itself—the other two are Rocky Springs and Jeff Busby —and the only one in Tennessee. The good news is, there are no fees to camp here.

Swan View Overlook

The first parking area we'll see will be on our right and it's for Fall Hollow - a small waterfall. We barely have to take 10 steps from our car to see it. Jackson Falls coming up later is more impressive, but Fall Hollow is still worth a quick stop.

Technically, Devil’s Backbone State Natural Area is a park adjacent to the Trace, not actually on it. But, hey that's just a detail. What's important is that it's a good place to take a pretty, moderate-effort hike through the woods without a lot of other people around. It's especially interesting for the diversity of plant life.

Jackson Falls

I want to tell you about Jackson Falls now so we have some time to think about if we want to make the stop to see it. Before we get to it, we will pass She Boss Place, have an option to stop and see a tobacco farm and do an Old Trace Walk. Following that are beautiful views from Bakers Bluff.

Water Valley Overlook

From here we get a roughly 180 degree view across the Water Valley. Its a example of pastoral Tennessee as we look across rolling hills of farms and ponds. The view is normally well maintained here, rarely obscured by brush or other growth. Interestingly, its a popular dark location for stargazing or there is some astronomical event taking place - like a meteor shower.

Andrew Jackson's Hermitage

I’ve mentioned President Andrew Jackson a few times. Jackson is one of the country’s most polarizing historical figures, at least in the South.

Garrison Creek Trailhead

In the early 19th century the forest here gave way to an army post, hence the name, a place where the U.S. military stationed troops to guard against Native Americans who were defending their ancestral land.

Leipers Fork

If you haven’t spent a lot of time in Nashville, you probably think it's home to a lot of country music musicians. But there are some really big celebrities that choose to live in a bucolic, tiny town, called Leiper's fork.

The Music of Nashville

Nashville is known as Music City and with very good reason. With more than 180 music venues, Nashville offers us the opportunity to see live music every night of our stay, including at the small but iconic Bluebird Cafe.

The Loveless Cafe

If all this sightseeing has made us hungry, we've got something of a Nashville culinary icon ahead. Just east of where the Trace ends and meets highway 100 sits the legendary Loveless Cafe. It's been a mainstay for Trace travelers for more than 70 years- ever since Anne and Lon Loveless opened their restaurant in 1951.