Parking
Use the Elizabeth Female Academy pull-off at Natchez Trace Parkway milepost 5.1. The National Park Service lists one accessible space and about ten other spaces.
Overview
About Elizabeth Female Academy Trail
Why go
- A flat paved approach to a distinctive, surviving academy wall.
Heads up
- Very short: about 0.17 miles round trip.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Natchez Trace map
Full mapElevation282–300 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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 Elizabeth Female Academy 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
Elizabeth Female Academy0:00 / 0:30
“You're approaching Elizabeth Female Academy, where a single brick wall survives from one of the country's earliest women's colleges.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Natchez Trace Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- The Blue Tail on the Log
- The Barber's Fourteen Volumes
- Five Swims in One Day
- Fort Rosalie and the Natchez
- 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 Elizabeth Female Academy Trail
A quick history stopElizabeth Female Academy Trail is an out-and-back on a level, paved path at Natchez Trace…
Elizabeth Female Academy Trail is an out-and-back on a level, paved path at Natchez Trace Parkway milepost 5.1. The National Park Service describes about 450 feet from the parking area to a viewing area. The mapped footway measures about 441 feet one way; allow roughly 0.17 miles for the return walk and about ten minutes for the walk and a look at the ruins. This is a short Parkway stop rather than a hike to build the day around.
One wall survivesOnly one brick wall remains of the former academy.
Only one brick wall remains of the former academy. The school was Mississippi's first female institution of higher learning chartered by the state. John James Audubon briefly taught drawing here in 1822. From the approach, you can look into the former building; walking around behind the wall gives you its exterior. The contrast between one surviving wall and the school's educational ambition is the stop's real point.
Parking and petsTurn into the Elizabeth Female Academy pull-off at milepost 5.
Turn into the Elizabeth Female Academy pull-off at milepost 5.1 and begin the path at the parking loop. The National Park Service lists one accessible space and about ten other spaces. The path is level and paved. Pets are allowed outdoors on the Parkway; keep them on a leash six feet or shorter, with no more than two per site.
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.
