Driving the Natchez Trace was one of our favorite drives. This is a continuation of our drive. Please see parts one and two if you haven’t read those yet. Links are below.
Mile Marker 180 – French Camp
We loved this stop! It’s a wide-open place where you can walk around the grounds, read about the history, and see and touch the old farm implements. You have to eat at the little restaurant (the best potato soup ever!). We also learned there is a school there. Not a typical school but some sort of school where the kids live there. From listening to others talk, we understand it’s much like the “Hershey School” in PA. Also loved walking through the gift shops (there are 2). There is also a carriage house you can stay overnight in, and they have a wonderful bed and breakfast. Plan to spend a few hours here. It’s a great little community!
Mile Marker 122 – Cypress Swamp
I think this was one of my favorite stops. This loop takes you through a pretty amazing, but very short walk, Cypress Swamp. I didn’t realize just how unique and different Cypress trees grew. Though we were hoping to see an alligator, none seemed to be there while we were there.
Mile Marker 54 – Rocky Springs
This was another of my very favorite stops. We actually stayed in the Rocky Springs campground, so we were able to spend quite a bit of time here. This is an abandoned town. There isn’t much to see here in ways of structures or old town buildings. They have a couple of old safe’s, the church, which had a sign out for the next gathering, so we have to assume it’s still an operational church which was super cool. The history of why this town perished is really sad and unique. Again, I don’t want to spoil it for you. We did quite a bit of research on the history of places on the NT, but I tried not to read the stories before going. Only after. So that way we could learn while we were standing right in front of it. For us, that makes it so much more exciting.
Mile Marker 41 – The Sunken Trace
Make sure you stop at this! The trace appears sunken in this spot due to thousands of travelers walking on the easily eroded soil. This short trail will allow you to walk on the Natchez Trace just as thousands have before you. It was really a neat thing to see!
Mile Marker 30-40 – (side trip) Winsor Ruins
This stop was absolutely my very favorite. There is a lot of mystery, sadness, and some fascinating stories surrounding this.
Windsor mansion was located on a plantation that covered 2,600 acres. The mansion was constructed between 1859 and 1861 for Smith Coffee Daniell II, who was born in Mississippi and had acquired great wealth as a cotton planter by age 30. In 1849, Smith Daniell married his cousin (YUCK LOL) Catherine Freeland. The couple had six children, with three surviving to adulthood. Much of the basic construction of the Windsor mansion was accomplished by Smith Daniell’s slaves. On April 28, 1861, Smith Daniell died at age 34, just weeks after the construction of the mansion was completed. The mansion stood from 1861 to 1890, when it was destroyed by fire. The mansion was never photographed in its completion. And to this day there have never been any known photographs found of the completed mansion. There is only someone’s drawing of it found many years later. Hummmm … makes you wonder! Really enjoyed visiting this site. Such mystery surrounding his death, the fire, no known photograph … just fascinating. The ruins are falling. Literally. So don’t miss this while you can still see this. It’s not far off the NT, but don’t take your RV. Though it might be doable in a small one, if you have the choice, just unhook and drive out there. The parking near this is small and hard to turn around if your RV is large. The huge oak tree on the property was massive! See if you can find Justin in that picture!
AND … we completed the Natchez Trace! All 444 miles! We ended our trip by staying in the city of Natchez Mississippi for a couple of days. We saw some Antebellum houses and learned more history of the tiny town of Natchez. Driving the NT was one of the top things we wanted to do when we first started talking about traveling/living full time in our RV. We couldn’t have imagined it as amazing as it was. Take the time to do this drive! You won’t regret it.
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us” J.R.R. Tolkien
So – You’re shopping on Amazon? I mean who doesn’t, right? Please consider using our link. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and it gives us a few extra pennies. Click below to use our link and then just shop like normal. Don’t forget ~ check out within 24 hours so we get credit! Thank you!! It really means a lot to us!
Thank you for stopping by our little corner of the internet! We truly appreciate each and every person who takes the time to read our blogs. We’re honored you spent the last few minutes with us! If you aren’t signed up to follow us, please do! You’ll be notified of our new blogs when they go up.
Here are a few more blogs we think you’ll love
- Off the Beaten Path in Mississippi. Our Top Hidden Gems
- Full-Time RV Life ~ Working Remotely and Staying Connected
- Off the Beaten Path in Tennessee. 11 Hidden Gems You Can’t Miss.
- The Best Tips for Organizing Your RV Stuff
- Boondocking ~ How We Spent $48 on Camping Fees For the Whole Year
- Full-Time RV Life – Thousand Trails Costs
In part one, you said there was no hurry. . .but you did seem to be hurrying along, covering 444 miles in 3 days of driving. I noted only 2 overnight stops (one for 2 nights)–did I miss any? Weren’t there interesting sites to see at many of the exits from the Trace, and didn’t you wish to linger near any of the stops? I ask because when I make this trip, I’d likely take 3 weeks to cover it so I don’t miss anything beautiful or interesting nearby.
This trip took us about 11-12 days. We didn’t venture off the trace much, other than twice to see sights. We stayed in 3 different campgrounds (all free) for 2-4 nights during our trip. We could have easily taken longer. There were some things we were not real interested in seeing. There are lots and lots of Indian burial grounds (mounds), and we did not stop at most of them. The history is wonderful and it is great to take 3 weeks! You’ll enjoy it. We didn’t do every single mile marker stop. We did research, and found the ones we really wanted to stop at. My Natchez Trace series is done in 3 parts, but each of those parts was many days. Enjoy! It’s the most beautiful drive we’ve ever done.
Thanks for your helpful information! I know it is time consuming to answer questions. You have made my planning for this trip much clearer. It was your blog that made me decide to do this drive. I have been researching the many U.S. scenic drives and will continue to add my own research to what you have already given me. I will probably do the trip in the fall of 2018.
Of all the blogs I’ve read, yours is the most articulate, helpful, and beautiful! I will look forward to “spying” on more of your trips. Thanks for sharing.
We also did this drive in the Fall, and if you time it just right, you’ll “follow” Fall down the Trace. It was AMAZING! Just when you think Fall is over, you drive another day and it’s still there. Well … depending on which way you drive it of course. We did it from North to South, which isn’t the typical way. No matter which way you do it, you’ll probably never enjoy another drive more! If you have any questions, or information confirmations, please feel free to reach out. So glad our information has helped someone! Safe travels.
P.S. How rude of me not to tell you how much I enjoyed this informative blog,the style of your writing, and the photos! I also appreciate the information about camping along the way.
🙂 You were not rude at all! Thank you for your sweet comments and so glad you enjoyed blog. Hope to meet you sometime along the way.