Parking
Use the Mount Locust Information Center parking area at milepost 15.5; the visitor grounds and restrooms are alongside the lot.
Overview
About Mount Locust Trail
Why go
- Connects the Old Trace, house grounds and cemetery paths in a short circuit
- Parking and restrooms are beside the access
Heads up
- One flight of stairs and short steep pitches
- Mixed surfaces and cross-slope prevent a consistently smooth walk
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Natchez Trace map
Full mapElevation164–188 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
4 active Natchez Trace alerts
- ClosureMount Locust historic stand closedMentions Mount Locust, referenced in this guideThe historic stand at Mount Locust Inn & Plantation (MP 15.5) is closed because of structural concerns.Official details
- ClosureParkway sections closed for bridge and road constructionTwo Natchez Trace Parkway sections are closed to through traffic; follow the signed detours.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Natchez Trace Tour Guide
Your drive to Mount Locust 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
Mount Locust Historic House0:00 / 0:36
“You're approaching Mount Locust, the only surviving stand, or roadside inn, on the old Trace.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Natchez Trace Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Potkopinu Section and Coles Creek
- The Daytime Chorus
- Loess Bluff
- The Mud Chimney's Tenant
- 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 Mount Locust Trail
The loopThe 0.
The 0.58-mile Mount Locust Trail is a short loop through the historic grounds, joining the Old Trace, the house yard and cemetery paths before returning to the Mount Locust Information Center parking area. It is a compact grounds walk rather than a secluded woodland hike; the interest is in moving among the surviving buildings, former work sites and memorial places.
Footing and stopsExpect a paved approach followed by mixed paved, gravel, earth, grass and brick paths.
Expect a paved approach followed by mixed paved, gravel, earth, grass and brick paths. One flight of stairs links the Trace to the house; short pitches are steep, with cross-slopes in places. The loop passes the house exterior, grape arbor area, historic Trace and cemetery clearings. Interpretive material addresses earlier Native communities, Trace travel, the plantation and enslavement at Mount Locust. Keep a quiet distance at the graves and leave artifacts where you find them.
PlanAllow about 45–60 minutes with time for the exhibits and grounds.
Allow about 45–60 minutes with time for the exhibits and grounds. Start at the Mount Locust Information Center parking area at milepost 15.5; restrooms are beside the access. Pets can join on the outdoor paths on a leash no longer than six feet, but only service animals may enter Parkway buildings. This route description covers the outdoor grounds; house interior access is separate and not assumed.
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.
