Updated on November 2, 2022:
23 miles of the Natchez Trace Parkway in northeast Mississippi and northwest Alabama are closed for road rehabilitation and repaving.
On November 2nd the National Park Service reopened the section of Natchez Trace Parkway from Milepost 326.3 to Milepost 336, including John Coffee Memorial Bridge over the Tennessee River. Final audible stripe placement and shoulder grading is still underway in this section of the Parkway. Travelers should be aware of mobile construction zones and potential single lane closures.
23 miles of the Parkway between mileposts 303 (intersection with MS Hwy 25) and 326.3 (intersection with North Pike Road) remain fully closed at this time. The closure is near the towns of Belmont, MS, Tishomingo, MS and Cherokee, AL.
- During the paving project no tourism activities are allowed in the closed section of the Parkway. Bicyclists will not be allowed in the closed area.
- The park service has setup a detour route (see map below) for the closed section. It is labeled on our maps (see below) as the Marked Detour Route.
- The Marked Detour Route takes vehicles on US 72 and MS 25 that are unsafe for bicycle travel:
- US 72 is a four-lane, divided highway. Fortunately, there is a wide shoulder in both directions in the Cherokee, AL area that cyclists can bike on. However, large trucks will be driving at high speeds just a few feet away.
- MS 25 in the Tishomingo and Belmont areas sees a lot of truck traffic and the road has no shoulder.
- We have an Alternate Bicycle Detour Route on two-lane county roads that are lightly traveled. Cyclists have been using this detour for several months while the overall Paving Project was in Phase One and Phase Two.
- If you are biking with a support vehicle we recommend that you shuttle around the paving project using the Marked Detour Route.
- When cycling always wear brightly colored clothing and have both front and rear flashing lights on your bicycle.
- An Overview Map that shows the entire area.
- Three detailed maps dividing the entire area into three sections:
- Cherokee, AL area
- Alabama / Mississippi state line area
- Tishomingo, MS area
Please be aware of dogs on the bicycle route as dogs also like lightly travelled, country roads. You might want to take an air horn to scare dogs away.
Individual sections of the Parkway between mileposts 303 and 326.3 will reopen as the contractor completes work within each section. The goal of the contractor is to have all work completed and open to traffic between MS Hwy 25 (milepost 303) and US Highway 72 (milepost 321) before the end of January 2023. It is likely that the Parkway section from Highway 72 to North Pike Road (milepost 326.3) will remain closed until Spring of 2023. Weather will have a tremendous impact on how much work is completed. Both the placement of surface pavement and the placement of permanent stripe are prohibited when temperatures are below 50 degrees.
There are four maps included here for the Phase Three closure/detour:
Directions for the Alternate Bicycle Detour Route for each section are also included. Below the maps and bicycle route directions are Ride with GPS routes for both "north to south" and "south to north".
Overview Map
South to North Driving Directions:
- Exit the Parkway at milepost 303 onto MS Hwy 25.
- Turn left onto MS 25 and go north 13.6 miles to US 72.
- Turn right onto US 72 and go east 16.6 miles to Barns Lane.
- Turn left onto Barns Lane and go north 0.25 miles to Old Lee Highway.
- Turn left onto Old Lee Highway and go west 0.3 miles to Moody Lane.
- Turn right onto Moody Lane and go north 3.1 miles to Cross Lane.
- Turn left onto Cross Lane and go west 1.5 miles to North Pike Road.
- Turn right onto North Pike Road and go north 2 miles to the Natchez Trace Parkway on ramp.
- Re-enter the Parkway at milepost 326.3 and continue traveling north.
North to South Driving Directions:
- Exit the Parkway (turn left) at milepost 326.3 onto the exit ramp.
- Turn right onto North Pike Road and go south 2 miles to Cross Lane.
- Turn left onto Cross Lane and go east 1.5 miles to Moody Lane.
- Turn right onto Moody Lane and go south 3.1 miles to Old Lee Highway.
- Turn left onto Old Lee Highway and go east 0.3 miles to Barns Lane.
- Turn right onto Barns Lane and go south 0.25 miles to US 72.
- Turn right onto US 72 and go west 16.6 miles to MS Hwy 25.
- Turn left onto MS 25 and go south 13.6 miles to the Natchez Trace Parkway.
- Re-enter the Parkway at milepost 303 and continue traveling south.
Colbert County Road 21/North Pike Road/Parkway intersection - US 72/Parkway intersection
Alternate Bicycle Detour Route Directions
South to North Bicycle Directions:
- From Mt Hester Road, turn right onto US 72 and bike east on the wide shoulder for 0.2 miles to Main Street (next to Chevron gas station).
Safely cross both lanes of US 72 traffic to Main Street. - Bike north one block on Main Street to Daniel Street.
- Turn right onto Daniel Street and bike east two blocks to North Pike Road.
- Turn left onto North Pike Road and bike north 5 miles to the Parkway on ramp.
- Re-enter the Parkway at milepost 326.3 and continue biking north.
North to South Bicycle Directions:
- Exit the Parkway (turn left) at milepost 326.3 onto Colbert County Road 21/North Pike Road.
- Turn right onto North Pike Road and bike south 5 miles into the town of Cherokee to Daniel Street.
- Turn right onto Daniel Street and bike west two blocks to Main Street.
- Turn left onto Main Street and bike south one block to US 72.
- Turn right onto US 72 and bike west on the wide shoulder for 0.2 miles.
Safely cross both lanes of US 72 traffic to Mt. Hester Road. - Bike south on Mt. Hester Road.
US 72/Parkway intersection - Alabama / Mississippi state line
Alternate Bicycle Detour Route Directions
South to North Bicycle Directions:
- County Road 958 in MS becomes Old Natchez Trace Road on the AL side of the stateline.
The Old Trace went thru this area! - Bike northeast 1 mile on Old Natchez Trace Road.
Old Natchez Trace Road ends. - Continue straight onto Allsboro Road, bike north 3.8 miles on Allsboro to Buddy Durham Road.
- Turn right onto Buddy Durham and bike east 0.6 miles to Asphalt Rock Road.
Buddy Durham crosses a river. - Turn left onto Asphalt Rock and bike east 1.5 miles to Sutton Hill Road.
- Turn right onto Sutton Hill and bike east 1.4 miles to the Natchez Trace Parkway overpass.
- Continue on Sutton Hill Road - biking under the Natchez Trace Parkway and bike east 1.7 miles to Mt Hester Road/County Road 15.
- Turn left onto Mt Hester Road and bike north 1.4 miles.
- Turn right to stay on Mt Hester Road and bike east 1.3 miles to US 72.
North to South Bicycle Directions:
- From US 72, bike west on Mt Hester road for 1.3 miles.
- Turn left to stay on Mt Hester Road and bike south 1.4 miles to Sutton Hill Road/County Road 4.
- Turn right onto Sutton Hill Road and bike west 1.7 miles to the Natchez Trace Parkway overpass.
Mt Hester Road also goes left at the intersection with Sutton Hill Road. Turn right onto Sutton Hill. - Continue on Sutton Hill Road - biking under the Natchez Trace Parkway and bike west 1.4 miles to Asphalt Rock Road.
- Turn left onto Asphalt Rock and bike west 1.5 miles to Buddy Durham Road.
- Turn right onto Buddy Durham and bike west 0.6 miles to Allsboro Road.
Buddy Durham crosses a river. - Turn left onto Allsboro and bike south 3.8 miles to Old Natchez Trace Road.
- Bear right onto Old Natchez Trace and bike southwest 1 mile to the MS / AL stateline.
Allsboro bears to the left.
The Old Trace went thru this area! - Old Natchez Trace becomes County Road 958 on the MS side of the stateline.
Alabama / Mississippi state line – south of Tishomingo, MS and Tishomingo State Park
Alternate Bicycle Detour Route Directions
South to North Bicycle Directions:
- IF you are biking from Belmont, MS, follow our "back roads" route from either Belmont Hotel or Sparks Drive Inn B&B north to the intersection of CR 23 and CR 412. Then, follow the directions below.
We highly recommend not biking on MS 25 to/from Belmont due to high volume of truck traffic. - Exit the Parkway near milepost 303 onto the MS 25 northbound exit (towards Tishomingo).
- Bike north 0.1 miles to CR 412.
- Turn right onto CR 412 and bike east 0.5 miles to CR 23.
- Turn left onto CR 23 and bike north 0.3 miles.
- Continue straight onto CR 87, bike north 0.1 miles to intersection with County Road 90 (State Park Road).
Spur Route to Tishomingo State Park – turn right onto State Park Road and bike east 0.5 miles to Tishomingo SP.
CR 23 veers to the left at intersection with CR 87. Bike straight onto CR 87. - Continue straight on CR 87, bike north 2.4 miles to County Road 106.
- Turn right onto CR 106 and bike east 0.4 miles to MS Hwy 30.
- Turn right onto MS 30 and bike east 400 feet to County Road 958.
There is no street sign at CR 958.
Spur Route to Bear Creek Saloon Guesthouse – turn right onto MS 30 and bike east 1.4 miles to Bear Creek Saloon. - Turn left onto CR 958 and bike north 5.1 miles to the MS / AL stateline.
North to South Bicycle Directions:
- From the MS / AL stateline bike south 5.1 miles on County Road 958 to MS Hwy 30.
- Turn right onto MS 30 and bike west 400 feet to County Road 106.
Spur Route to Bear Creek Saloon Guesthouse – turn left onto MS 30 and bike east 1.4 miles to Bear Creek Saloon. - Turn left onto CR 106 and bike west 0.4 miles to County Road 87.
- Turn left onto CR 87 and bike south 2.4 miles to County Road 90 (State Park Road).
Spur Route to Tishomingo State Park – turn left onto State Park Road and bike east 0.5 miles to Tishomingo SP. - Continue south 0.1 miles to County Road 23.
CR 87 ends at CR 23. - Continue straight onto CR 23, bike south 0.3 miles to CR 412.
- IF you are biking further south to Belmont, MS, follow our "back roads" route to either Belmont Hotel or Sparks Drive Inn B&B.
We highly recommend not biking on MS 25 to/from Belmont due to high volume of truck traffic. - If you are biking to the Parkway: Turn right onto CR 412 and bike west 0.5 miles to CR 103.
- Turn left onto CR 103 and bike south 0.1 miles to the Natchez Trace Parkway on ramp.
- Re-enter the Parkway at milepost 303 and continue traveling south.
Biking North to South:
Biking South to North: