Natchez Trace Parkway: Mount Locust Inn (Blog Hike #890)

Trail: Mount Locust Trail

Hike Location: Natchez Trace Parkway, Mount Locust Inn
Geographic Location: north of Natchez, MS (31.68572, -91.18833)
Length: 0.6 miles
Difficulty: 1/10 (Easy)
Date Hiked: March 2022
Overview: A short hike around an inn on the old Natchez Trace.
Trace Information: https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=903305
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: Mount Locust Inn is located at mile marker 15.5 on the Natchez Trace Parkway, which is located 15.5 miles north of Natchez.  Park in the parking lot in front of the small Visitor Center and restroom building.

The hike: The National Park Service maintains two long roads/parks designed for recreational driving: the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina/Virginia and the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi/Alabama/Tennessee.  Despite similarities in their design and status, the two parkways offer very different experiences.  Whereas the Blue Ridge Parkway features mountaintop views and natural scenery, the Natchez Trace Parkway features the region's history.  I have driven the majority of both Parkways, and I enjoyed my drive up the southern half of the Natchez Trace for my Spring Break 2022 hiking trip.

            Stretching for 444 miles on a southwest to northeast trajectory, the Natchez Trace is one of the oldest overland routes in the lower Mississippi River valley.  Travelers started using this route 10,000 years ago, and in the early days of European settlement this area was known as the Old Southwest.  Most of the Trace's travelers in the 1700's and 1800's were ordinary hard-working people from the Tennessee and Cumberland River valleys.  These people would float their goods down river for sale in New Orleans, sell the raft for timber, and ride horseback overland up the Trace back home.

            Numerous stands or inns along the historic Natchez Trace offered weary travelers opportunities to spend the night.  For travelers going in the usual northbound direction, one of the first inns they would reach was the Mount Locust Inn featured here.  One of the oldest structures in the area, Mount Locust Inn was begun by John Blommart in 1780, and the site housed an inn and farm until 1944.  This short hike explores the inn's building and grounds, and it gives you a good feel for the accommodations experienced by travelers on the historic Trace.

Asphalt trail to Mount Locust Inn

            Start by walking through the breezeway of the Visitor Center/restroom building and heading up the asphalt path.  After only a few hundred feet, turn right to climb some steps to the front entrance of Mount Locust Inn.  The front entrance was closed for repairs on my visit, so I had to walk the brick path around the inn and enter from the back.

Front of Mount Locust Inn

Back of Mount Locust Inn

            Mount Locust Inn demonstrates the typical accommodations afforded travelers on the historic Trace.  From the outside the building appears as a large well-appointed structure for its time and location, but the rooms are small and dirty with uncomfortable beds.  In fact, many travelers preferred to camp outside the inn as opposed to sleep in one of the crowded rooms.  Try imagining you are a traveler from yesteryear walking into this inn after a hard day of walking or horseback riding.

Mount Locust Slave Cemetery

            Exit the back of the inn and walk across the back yard to reach the Mount Locust Slave Cemetery, a somber and lightly marked clearing in the woods.  Of all the people buried here, only 10 of the names are known.  Retrace your steps back to the back porch, and then turn right to head down a gravel path that leads to the Ferguson-Chamberlain Family Cemetery.  Notice the ornate iron fence and numerous large monuments at this cemetery, a noteworthy contrast to the cemetery you passed earlier.

Ferguson-Chamberlain Family Cemetery

            Next the trail turns left and descends slightly to intersect the historic Trace.  Turn left again to begin following the historic Trace.  Walking this direction, you approach Mount Locust Inn the same way northbound travelers did 200 years ago.  Close the loop in front of the inn, and then retrace your steps to the parking lot to complete the hike.