Parking
Use the Bynum Mounds parking area at milepost 232.4; start at the information kiosk.
Overview
About Bynum Mounds Trail
Why go
- Two rebuilt mounds and interpretive displays make this a worthwhile history stop.
- The paved, wheelchair-accessible loop is easy to fit into a parkway drive.
Heads up
- At 0.2 miles, this is a brief interpretive stop rather than a substantial hike.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Natchez Trace map
Full mapElevation348–361 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
4 active Natchez Trace alerts
- ClosureParkway sections closed for bridge and road constructionTwo Natchez Trace Parkway sections are closed to through traffic; follow the signed detours.Official details
- ClosureMount Locust historic stand closedThe historic stand at Mount Locust Inn & Plantation (MP 15.5) is closed because of structural concerns.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Natchez Trace Tour Guide
Your drive to Bynum Mounds Trail, narrated.
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 trailhead
Bynum Mounds0:00 / 0:30
“You're approaching Bynum Mounds, the oldest mound site along the Parkway.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Natchez Trace Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Witch Dance Picnic Area
- Goldenrod Takes the Blame
- Two Lives on One Tree
- The Brown Cardinal's Song
- 272 audio storiesacross Natchez Trace’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor American Alligator, White-tailed Deer, Wild Turkey, and 9 more
- Works offlinemaps, 26 trails, 62 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Bynum Mounds Trail
A short loop with a long historyBynum Mounds Trail is a 0.2-mile paved loop around a small archaeological site at milepost 232.
Bynum Mounds Trail is a 0.2-mile paved loop around a small archaeological site at milepost 232.4 on the Natchez Trace Parkway. It is an easy, accessible detour for anyone curious about the people who lived and held ceremonies here long before the modern parkway. Allow about 15 minutes if you stop to read the displays; this is an interpretive stroll, not a workout or a way to add hiking miles.
Mounds and historyThe path circles low grassy mounds beside the forest edge and passes an interpretive shelter.
The path circles low grassy mounds beside the forest edge and passes an interpretive shelter. Six mounds once stood here. National Park Service archaeologists excavated five in the 1940s and rebuilt the two largest. They date from 100 BCE to 100 CE, during the Middle Woodland period, and objects uncovered here point to trade across the Southeast. Chickasaw descendants and other descendants continue to return to this culturally important homeland.
Start herePark at Bynum Mounds and begin by the information kiosk.
Park at Bynum Mounds and begin by the information kiosk. The route is paved and listed as wheelchair accessible. Leashed pets are welcome in outdoor areas; keep them on a leash no longer than six feet.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Natchez Trace
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.
