Natchez Trace State Park
Encyclopedia
Natchez Trace State Park is a 10154 acres (4,109.2 ha) state park
located in western Tennessee
.
Natchez Trace State Park was named for the famous Natchez Trace
, a Natchez, Mississippi
-to-Nashville
highway that was an important wilderness road during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A western spur of the trace ran through part of the modern-day park. With the many acres of scenic woodlands, the park includes four lakes, a swimming beach, a 47 room resort inn and restaurant complex, cabins, group lodge, camping areas, picnicking sites, playgrounds, a ballfield, a regulation pistol firing range, picturesque hiking trails, a wrangler camp, 250 miles (402.3 km) of horse riding trails, a park store, and archery range. Natchez Trace is located in Carroll
, Henderson, and Benton counties, near the unincorporated community of Wildersville. Interstate 40
bisects the park, which is roughly equidistant from Memphis
and Nashville. The park is the home to the third largest pecan tree in the world.
The park was built during the New Deal
on land bought from residents who could no longer farm due to erosion.
Pin Oak Lake being 690 acres (2.8 km²), is one of the more recreational lakes. It has two boat ramps and lake use permits can be purchased at the Pin Oak Lodge. Water skiing is allowed at this lake only. Other activities are fishing, picnicking, swimming, R.V. camping and more. Over night guests are not required to have a permit.
Browns Lake, 167 acre (0.67582562 km²), and Maples Lake, 90 acres (364,217.4 m²), have one boat ramp each. Jonboats, life jackets and paddles are available at both lakes, but it is on a first-come first-serve basis. Permits are available for purchase at both sites.
Pin Oak Lodge offers a swimming pool for inn and cabin guests only. Cub Lake offers a free public swim beach.
Archery is free, but you must bring your own equipment.
Basketball
There are basketball courts at 3 different locations in the park. All are unlighted courts.
Horseshoes
Horseshoes can be played at Campground #1.
Softball
Baseball fields are available to play, but you must bring your own equipment. The field is not lighted.
Tennis
Pin Oak Lodge has a lighted tennis court.
Volleyball
Cub Lake Beach has two sand courts.
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
located in western Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
.
Natchez Trace State Park was named for the famous Natchez Trace
Natchez Trace
The Natchez Trace, also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", is a historical path that extends roughly from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers...
, a Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
-to-Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
highway that was an important wilderness road during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A western spur of the trace ran through part of the modern-day park. With the many acres of scenic woodlands, the park includes four lakes, a swimming beach, a 47 room resort inn and restaurant complex, cabins, group lodge, camping areas, picnicking sites, playgrounds, a ballfield, a regulation pistol firing range, picturesque hiking trails, a wrangler camp, 250 miles (402.3 km) of horse riding trails, a park store, and archery range. Natchez Trace is located in Carroll
Carroll County, Tennessee
Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of 2010, the population was 28,522. Its county seat is Huntingdon. It was named for Governor William Carroll.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, Henderson, and Benton counties, near the unincorporated community of Wildersville. Interstate 40
Interstate 40
Interstate 40 is the third-longest major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90 and I-80. Its western end is at Interstate 15 in Barstow, California; its eastern end is at a concurrency of U.S. Route 117 and North Carolina Highway 132 in Wilmington, North Carolina...
bisects the park, which is roughly equidistant from Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and Nashville. The park is the home to the third largest pecan tree in the world.
The park was built during the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
on land bought from residents who could no longer farm due to erosion.
Water activities
Cub Lake is 58 acres (234,717.9 m²) and offers swimming, jonboats and pedal boats. You can rent boats between Memorial Day and Labor Day.Pin Oak Lake being 690 acres (2.8 km²), is one of the more recreational lakes. It has two boat ramps and lake use permits can be purchased at the Pin Oak Lodge. Water skiing is allowed at this lake only. Other activities are fishing, picnicking, swimming, R.V. camping and more. Over night guests are not required to have a permit.
Browns Lake, 167 acre (0.67582562 km²), and Maples Lake, 90 acres (364,217.4 m²), have one boat ramp each. Jonboats, life jackets and paddles are available at both lakes, but it is on a first-come first-serve basis. Permits are available for purchase at both sites.
Pin Oak Lodge offers a swimming pool for inn and cabin guests only. Cub Lake offers a free public swim beach.
Horseback riding
Natchez Trace offers 250 miles (402.3 km) of riding trails on the South end of the park.Playgrounds and Sports Fields
ArcheryArchery is free, but you must bring your own equipment.
Basketball
There are basketball courts at 3 different locations in the park. All are unlighted courts.
Horseshoes
Horseshoes can be played at Campground #1.
Softball
Baseball fields are available to play, but you must bring your own equipment. The field is not lighted.
Tennis
Pin Oak Lodge has a lighted tennis court.
Volleyball
Cub Lake Beach has two sand courts.
External links
- Natchez Trace State Park from the official web site of the state of Tennessee
- TNYesterday web site