Natchez Trace Parkway #2 - 3 Day Trip

Natchez Trace Parkway - Mile Post 122 to Mile Post 145.1

This trip is planned from Jackson, TN.  It can be revised to fit your location.

For this trip it is imperative that you get yourself a Natchez Trace Parkway brochure/map.

One you learn how to navigate it, this is a really helpful site: Natchez Trace Travel

Day One:

8am: Leave

12pm to 1pm - Birthplace of Kermit the Frog - S. Deer Creek Drive, Leland, MS


Hours: Winter Hours: After Labor Day, Mon-Sat 10a.m.-4p.m. Summer Hours: After Memorial Day, Mon-Sat 10a.m.-5p.m.
Admission: Free

*Kermit's house was neat.  It took us about 30 minutes to look at the things inside.  They have display cases with old school toys and other memorabilia, scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and photos relating to the Muppets.

We had a picnic lunch in the grass by the creek and took a few pictures and were on our way.  Nice stop to eat your lunch or stretch your legs.



2:30pm to 4:30pm - Mississippi Petrified Forest - 124 Forest Park Road, Flora, MS

"The Frog"

Hours: 9am to 6pm

Admission: Adults $7, Kids $6
6 Block Nature Trail
Museum

*MS Petrified Forest was a little bit of a dissapointment.  I guess for the price I was expecting a bit more than the 5 or 6 pieces of petrified wood along the trail.  There was 26 stops on the nature trail guide but even half of them had what we came to see.

"Caveman's Bench"

The gift shop was really nice...and huge...and the things weren't all that expensive either.













5pm -  Lefleur's Bluff State Park - 3315 Lakeland Terrace, Jackson, MS

Site 12

Mayes Lake Campground $18 night
This is where we will be camping.

This was a really great campsite. Our tent was about 12 feet from the edge of the lake and about the bathhouse was close enough but far enough.  It was perfect.

After sundown the first night we saw an alligator in the water...it was really neat to see.



Day Two:

8:30am - 9:00am - Follow Purple, Red and Yellow Trail to Mississippi Museum of Natural Science

Purple Trail - 0.49 mile
Red Trail - 0.32 mile
Yellow Trail - 0.16 mile

The trail to the museum was a little over a mile and it had A LOT of spider webs but otherwise it was a nice trail.  It was mostly flat and not strenuous at all.





9:00am to 12:00pm - Mississippi Museum of Natural Science - 2148 Riverside Drive, Jackson, MS

Two-Headed Snake

Admission: Adults $6, Kids $4
Hours: Monday thru Friday 8am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 1pm to 5pm

We went for the Special Exhibit: "Reptiles: The Beautiful and the Deadly"

The museum was good but it wouldn't have been much with out the special exhibit...which was awesome.

Ari made friends with a 20 foot Reticulated Python.

We saw a cobra, alligator, crocodile, lots of different snakes, geckos, chameleon, gila monster, a bearded dragon and a snake-necked turtle.

12:00pm to 12:30pm - Blue Trail and Yellow Trail

12:30pm to 1:00pm - Follow Red and Purple Trails back to Camp

1:00pm to 2:00pm - *Have Lunch

2:30pm - 4:00pm - Cypress Swamp - MP 122 on Natchez Trace Parkway

We saw 3 alligators here and it was AWESOME!


4:30pm - Camp

Day Three:

8:00am - Leave Camp

9:00am to 1:30pm - Vicksburg National Military Park - 3201 Clay Street, Vicksburg, MS

Illinois Monument

Hours: Daily 8am to 5pm
Admission: $8 Car
Allow 2 hours Driving Tour and Extra time for gift shop and museum.

This was a really nice military park...it was huge.  It took us about 3 hours to drive the whole park.

The Illinois Monument was our favoite.  It was absolutely beautiful, inside and out.

USS Cairo Exhibit and Museum, Hours: 930am to 5pm

The USS Cairo was really cool.  The museum had a lot of information and the actually ship was fun to get on and imagine what it would have been like before it was sunk.






3:30pm to 4:00pm - Kosciusko Museum and Visitor Center - Exit 160 on Natchez Trace Parkway

4:10pm to 4:30pm - Redbud Springs Park - approx. 207 S Natchez St, Kosciusko, MS

Tadeusz Kosciuszko statue

4:40pm to 5:00pm -  Buffalo United Methodist Church - Mississippi 12, Kosciusko, MS

Oprah Winfrey's First Church

About 2 blocks up the road, Oprah Winfrey Road, it a big white sign that marks the site of Oprah's First Home.  There isn't anything there but the sign and a woodsy area.









9:00pm - Home

We had a really fun time.  And we would have been home right on time...except that the headlights on our car stopped working and we ended up having to stay in a hotel in Senatobia, MS for the night.

 or Alternative 2-Day Trip:

Day One:

7am - Leave Jackson, TN

12:00pm to 1:30pm - Lefleur's Bluff State Park - 3315 Lakeland Terrace, Jackson, MS
Mayes Lake Campground $18 night
This is where we will be camping.  The plan is to set up our tent and have some lunch.

1:30pm to 2:00pm - Follow Purple, Red and Yellow Trail to Mississippii Museum of Natural Science

Purple Trail - 0.49 mile
Red Trail - 0.32 mile
Yellow Trail - 0.16 mile

2:00pm to 4:30pm - Mississippi Museum of Natural Science - 2148 Riverside Drive, Jackson, MS
Admission: Adults $6, Kids $4
Hours: Monday thru Friday 8am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 1pm to 5pm

4:30pm to 5:00pm - Blue Trail

5:00pm to 5:30pm - Follow Red and Purple Trails back to Camp

Day Two:

8:30am - Leave Camp

9:00am to 12:00pm - Mississippi Petrified Forest - 124 Forest Park Road, Flora, MS

Hours: 9am to 6pm

Admission: Adults $7, Kids $6
6 Block Nature Trail
Museum
Gem Mining - $4 per person
 

1:30pm to 2:30pm - Cypress Swamp - MP 122

1/2 mile Trail

3:30pm to 4:15pm - Kosciusko Museum and Visitor Center - Exit 160 on Natchez Trace Parkway
Hours: Daily 9am to 5pm
Free

4:30pm to 4:45pm - Redbud Springs Park - approx. 207 S Natchez St, Kosciusko, MS
Tadeusz Kosciuszko statue

5:00pm to 5:15pm - Buffalo United Methodist Church - Mississippi 12, Kosciusko, MS
Oprah Winfrey's First Church

9pm - Arrive Jackson, TN

If you would like to make it a longer trip, Holly Springs National Forest isn't far.