Pelahatchie, MS – We spent the week of January 29-February 5 in Pelahatchie, Mississippi where we stayed at the Yogi on the Lake campground. From here we took a day trip to visit the Vicksburg National Military Park which is about an hour west of Pelahatchie. We also visited the Natchez Trace Parkway, the Flowood Nature Park, Roosevelt State Park, and the Ridgeland Multiuse Trail. Pelahatchie is a very small town with a population of less than 1,500, located about 20 miles east of Jackson, Mississippi. There’s a small grocery store, a Ward’s and another restaurant. Pelahatchie is also located near Bienville National Forest which offers recreational opportunities. For other Mississippi destinations: Mississippi Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to Unique Places by Marla Carter Kirkpatrick is a fun guide.
Natchez Trace Parkway
We spent a day touring a section of the Natchez Trace Parkway which is a 444 mile recreational road that runs from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee. There’s a great guide for touring the entire length, the “Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway” by F. Lyn Bachleda. The Parkway travels through Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee and roughly follows the “Old Natchez Trace” a historic travel corridor used by American Indians, “Kaintucks,” European settlers, slave traders, soldiers, and future presidents. In addition to historical stops, recreational opportunities include hiking, biking, horseback riding, and camping along the parkway. NOTE: There are size limitations which prevent some RV’s/RV combos from traveling this route. The campgrounds are primitive (no hookups) and first come first serve.
The original road section
We traveled north on the Parkway from Jackson. Along the way we stopped at a section of the original route, the historical western boundary of Florida, and a boundary of the lands taken from the Choctaw Indians. We had a picnic lunch, enjoyed views of the Ross Burnett Reservoir, and a beautiful area including a bend in the Pearl River. Guides to the entire route are available at Visitor Centers and Information Stops or online. All marked stops correspond with the mileage along the trail which starts from Natchez at 0 to Nashville at mile 444. The stops are identified along the road by signs and usually a 1/2 mile ahead sign. We noticed that some stops had at least one picnic table that were not listed on the guide.
Marked stops have distinctive signage along the route
A view along the Parkway
A bend in the Pearl River is featured at the River Bend stop
We hiked part of the National Scenic Trail that includes sections of unmaintained hiking trail. We also hiked a short trail through a Tupelo Bald Cypress Swamp area that used to be a channel of the Pearl River before the river carved a new route. The listed short trails had informative markers about the flora and fauna.
The Natchez Trace Scenic Hiking Trail is marked though unmaintained and crosses the Parkway in numerous spots
A section of the Scenic Trail
The Tupelo Bald Cypress Swamp Trail
View from the Swamp Trail
The Pearl River from the Swamp Trail
Looking up a Loblolly Pine along the Choctaw Boundary loop trail
Flowood Nature Park
The Flowood Nature Park, a Flowood city park, is a great place to walk. Flowood is located halfway between Pelahatchie and Jackson. This 43 acre city park offers a one mile, paved, distance-marked walking trail that runs from the parking lot around the lake and into a wooded area on the rear of the park. The trail weaves through a mature hardwood forest with markers for native trees and plant species. The park is open dawn to dusk.
A map of the Flowood Nature Park
Roosevelt State Park
Conveniently located between Meridian and Jackson, Mississippi, Roosevelt State Park offers outdoor recreational opportunities in a beautiful environment. The park’s scenic overlook provides a panoramic view of the Bienville National Forest. The gently sloping landscape is particularly striking during the fall, when the forest is bright with autumn color. There are cabins and a campground, fishing, boating, and disc golf. During our walk, we saw no other people at this park, but our visit was in winter. The area is hilly and offers 4.8 miles of trails.
Ridgeland Multi-Use Trail
The city of Ridgeland has built a Multi-Use Path for bicycles, walkers, joggers, roller bladers, etc. Ridgeland’s Multi-Use Path is over 14 miles and travels from Harbor Drive to Rice Road to Highland Colony Parkway near the Natchez Trace Parkway. Several side trails bring users of the path to schools, shops and businesses. There is a section of trail that parallels the Natchez Trace Parkway from Highland Colony Parkway (near milepost 101) to Harbor Drive (near milepost 103).
A view of the Ridgeland Multi-Use Trail
Further to the south and to the north the national park service has created the Natchez Trace Multi-Use Trail. It connects with either end of the Ridgeland Multi-Use Path with the end result being one continuous, multi-use path from the Reservoir Overlook area (milepost 105.6) south to the Choctaw Agency area (milepost 100.7). On a Saturday, this trail was being used, but was not overly busy. The trail was in very good repair.
Ridgeland Multi-Use joins with the Natchez Trace Multi-Use Trail near the Burnett Reservoir
