The National Park Service will close Natchez Trace Parkway south of Nashville, Tennessee between milepost 429 and 442 at approximately 7 PM Sunday. Parkway Visitor Center in Tupelo, Mississippi will close at noon today. Additional sections of the parkway may close during the storms.
Three national scenic trails have become the country’s newest national parks, raising the total number of existing parks from 425 to 428. The Ice Age, New England, and North Country national scenic trails, all previously established by Congress and administered by the National Park Service as part of the National Trails System, are now also recognized as units of the National Park System.
Two new detours along Natchez Trace Parkway will take effect in Mississippi and Alabama later this month. Phase Two, of the ongoing paving project near Tupelo, MS, Milepost (MP) 262 to 266, is scheduled to begin the week of October 11, 2021. A new multiphase project near the Mississippi/Alabama border, Milepost 293 to 337, will begin in late October.
National Park Service (NPS) acting Regional Director Pedro Ramos announced the selection of Douglas “Doug” Neighbor as the new superintendent of Natchez Trace Parkway, Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site and Tupelo National Battlefield, effective Aug. 15.
Natchez Trace Parkway has partnered with the Southeast Conservation Corps to improve Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail sections and increase stewardship awareness. Last week, with a generous donation from the City of Tupelo through the Healthy Hometown Award, the crew rehabilitated the raised boardwalk near Chickasaw Village.