Natchez Trace State Park
Natchez Trace State Park is in western Tennessee, near the community of Wildersville. It sits in Carroll, Henderson, and Benton counties along Interstate 40, roughly midway between Memphis and Nashville.
The park is named after the historic Natchez Trace, an old trade and wilderness road used by Native Americans and American frontiersmen in the 18th and 19th centuries; a western spur of the Trace ran through the area. It was created during the New Deal era on land damaged by erosion and includes woodlands, several lakes, a swimming beach, and a historic inn site.
Today the park offers cabins, a group lodge, camping areas, picnicking sites, playgrounds, a ball field, a pistol range, hiking trails, a wrangler camp, and about 250 miles of horseback riding trails. Water recreation centers on Cub Lake (58 acres) with a free public swim beach and boat rentals (Memorial Day–Labor Day), and Pin Oak Lake (690 acres) with two boat ramps and the option for water skiing. Browns Lake (167 acres) and Maples Lake (90 acres) each have a single boat ramp. Overnight guests can use the lakes without a separate permit, and Johnboats, life jackets, and paddles are available first-come, first-served with permits available at both sites. The Pin Oak Lodge has a swimming pool for guests.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:46 (CET).