A Road Trip: The Natchez Trace Parkway

The 444-mile-long Natchez Trace Parkway begins off Highway 100 and McCrory Lane, just south of Nashville, before slipping southwest across the boarder into Alabama, on across the Tennessee River and into Mississippi, through Tupelo to Jackson, and finally to Natchez at the border of Louisiana. It has been in use for thousands of years—the forested parts of the old Trace that are still preserved have sunk low under the collective weight of its travelers—and is now a winding, two-lane parkway through extraordinary landscapes, pocked with vistas, walks, historic houses and prehistoric mounds. The air is cooler; there are few cars. It is nearly holy. nps.gov/natr.