Sight · Natchez Trace Parkway
Milepost 52.4 stop where a rain-fed fall and trail begin
Overview
This is a short, low-effort stop at milepost 52.4 on the Natchez Trace Parkway, between Hermanville and Port Gibson. Two things make it worth pulling over: the seasonal Owens Creek waterfall, and the fact that this is the southern terminus of the Rocky Springs Section of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy stop hereMap
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Natchez Trace Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Natchez Trace Parkway. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Owens Creek Waterfall“You're coming up on Owens Creek, where the waterfall runs only after heavy rain. The spring that once fed the creek has nearly disappeared as the water table fell, so expect a quiet wooded stream bed on a dry day.”
Plays as you drive up to Owens Creek Waterfall in the Parkwolf Natchez Trace Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Expect a quiet wooded setting, the Owens Creek sign, and a streambed that is often still. The busy woodland stream and its lazy waterfall have long been stilled here. Over the years the water table dropped several feet and the spring that fed Owens Creek has all but disappeared, so water fills the stream only after heavy rainfall. In dry conditions you are looking at rock, leaf litter and trees rather than falling water.
Most Parkway pullouts are a view and a sign. This one is a working trailhead with auto and bus/RV parking, so it doubles as a starting point rather than just a photo stop. From here the trail runs 6 miles north to the section's northern terminus, an optional add-on if you want a real hike rather than a quick leg stretch.
Pros: it is an easy, well-placed break on a Parkway drive, it is the exact trailhead if you want the 6 mile walk north, and after heavy rain you may catch the falls running.
Cons: the waterfall is usually dry or a trickle, and erosion with unstable ground limits how close you can get toward the base. Fold it into a longer Parkway itinerary rather than driving out for the waterfall alone.
Wildlife
39 sightingsAmerican AlligatorMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
35 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
53 sightingsWild TurkeyMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
28 sightingsGreat Blue HeronMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
29 sightingsRed-headed WoodpeckerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
32 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around noonSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Natchez Trace. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Parkwolf’s Natchez Trace ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
