Parking
Use the main Timberland Park lot beside the Interpretive Center, just off the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Overview
About Judy Hayes Trail
Why go
- Short, easy link into the park's wider trail network
Heads up
- Too brief to stand alone as a substantial hike
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Natchez Trace map
Full mapElevation820–909 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 Judy Hayes 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
Timberland Park0:00 / 0:27
“You're approaching Timberland Park, a wooded day-use park with a small interpretive center and picnic tables. If you want a break from driving, I'd start at the center for its forest displays, then choose a walk.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Natchez Trace Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Double Arch Bridge at Birdsong Hollow
- The Arches That Hung in Place
- The Bird That Borrows a Nest
- The Bird in the Leaf Litter
- 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 Judy Hayes Trail
A short connectorJudy Hayes Trail is a roughly 0.
Judy Hayes Trail is a roughly 0.2-mile, one-way connector through the wooded side of Timberland Park, just off the Natchez Trace Parkway. It starts near the Interpretive Center and follows a footpath to a junction with the park's wider trail network. It is not a loop or a destination hike; use it to reach the surrounding routes or add a short walk before continuing elsewhere.
What the route feels likeThis is easy by hiking standards and takes about 10 minutes one way.
This is easy by hiking standards and takes about 10 minutes one way. The line drops away from the center area, then rises briefly near its far end; there is roughly 90 feet between its lowest and highest points. Expect a short connecting segment rather than a developed scenic destination. Do not confuse it with Timberland Park's separately named ADA Trail; they are separate routes.
Starting and returningPark in the main lot beside the Interpretive Center.
Park in the main lot beside the Interpretive Center. The trail is within county-operated Timberland Park, just off the Natchez Trace Parkway. At the far end, continue on another marked route or turn around; retracing this connector makes a brief 0.4-mile out-and-back. Restrooms and picnic tables are near the center, not along this short trail.
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.
