I am planning on riding here in the spring, Heading north out of NewOrleans in late May. Any recommendations for things to see, good diners/brew-pubs, campgrounds B&B's ?
I rode it end to end last year and won't do it again. Just too boring, nice but boring. There is nothing ON the trace, you have to pick a town nearby and jump off. We rode from the head in Nashville to Clinton (just outside Jackson) on day one and then the next day from Clinton to the end and then continued to Houston to visit with our Daughter. There are a lot of jump off points. Two lane and no trucks. I saw a few parks that may have had camping but we don't camp so we didn't pay much attention to them. Just my experience.
I agree with JZ. It is nice but the speed limit is only 50mph (and I was warned also strictly enforced). I rode a part of it going to last years rally and it's not worth going our of your way to do. I would have been much better off just sticking to TN Rt. 100.
It is very pretty but there's literally nothing on it. No stops. No easy on/off. I was OK doing 60-70 miles but the whole run?!? No way. I'd lose my mind.
Edit: I just remembered that the day I ran it they had road crews mowing the shoulders...and blowing the resulting cut grass into neat, 3 foot wide, swaths right down the middle of both lanes!
I agree with John Z & Pappy53. BORING! Did about 100 miles in the cage last January after visiting family in Texas and then on to New Orleans and north. We saw many new housing developments through the tress along side the trace.
About 4 years ago we (wife and I) rode the entire Natchez Trace from south to north. The last 40+ or so miles near Nashville are the best riding if you are are looking for somewhat twisty roads. The Trace is not the Blue Ridge Parkway! I heard once that someone compared the Natchez Trace as the longest driveway, I don't think they ever road the straight roads in the Mid-West. The road is boring to just ride and I wouldn't do it again.
The Trace is known for its historical significance and not necessarily for scenic vistas. There are several areas on the Trace to stop and check out Indian Mounds, the actual trail which can be hiked in areas. I also saw a write up in BMW ON or Road Runner about the Natchez Trace which you might want to read.
We camped at the Davis Campground for one night, had a nice lakeside campsite. The morning sunrise over the lake was fantastic.
I think we had some rain about 10-12 days out of a 14 day trip.
Well, I guess I won't have my expctations oo high,. I will be riding north from New Orleans and I want to see some things in Mississippi. I will just treat it as an off highway route and check out some of the sites near-by. I will be riding Skyline Drice and the BRP on the way down from the North with a couple of days in Asheville NC.
If you like straight roads, try Kansas. I got rained and hailed on riding west, then again, riding east! When the big rigs ALL pull in to the rest areas/stops, you do it too.
I agree with Ride2Ski, we rode a section near Nashville when down for the MOA Rally and the first 30 miles from the start near Nashville was probably the best. It started to get less interesting as we traveled farther from Nashville. We didn't ride the entire route but doubled back and exited near Leipers Fork, TN and some of the back roads we took were just as nice and curvy.
The speed limit is 45-50MPH if I recall but we did exceed that slightly with care. At the time we went there was very little traffic, cars and bicycles, no trucks and probably mostly motorcycles. Maybe we were lucky, but the lack of traffic was nice and the section we rode was moderately interesting, although not much besides trees. Compared to our straight, flat roads of cornfields, I can't complain, it was a nice change of scenery and roads.
BRP is better but it is also limited as far as speed limit. Many of the back roads I routed in KY and TN were just as nice, but road conditions were sometimes hit or miss. Natchez Trace did have a near perfect road surface the part we traveled.
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