The17xprt

Thanks for the info! Hacienda RV Resort is on our list as a place to stay. Do you think we need to make reservations in advance?

We are headed out west this summer from Florida via I10. On the way, we would like to stop at Carlsbad Caverns and then on to Las Cruces. My trip planner has us take 285 north to Carlsbad. After that it has us go US180/62 to US 375 to get back to I10 and Las Cruces. Is this a good route for a Class A, gas RV? Also, are campground reservations necessary in July or are parks fairly empty that time of year? Any information about travel in the area is appreciated! Thanks.

Yes, we are back. Unfortunately our trip did not go as planned. We made it to the beginning of the Trace and took a detour to Vicksburg. That night at the campground our leveling jacks broke and we had to wait five days for a new motor. By that time we had to head back home. It was still a great trip and I'll share what I learned. I see you're in Gainesville. We were coming from Miami and had events scheduled in Melbourne and Pensacola. I highly recommend Falling Waters State Park in Chipley, FL. They have the highest waterfall in Florida and nice trails to walk. The flow of the fall depends on recent rainfall. It can get down to a trickle, but it was beautiful when we saw it in August. After Pensacola, we went to Dauphin Island, Alabama and stayed at Pelican Nest. The bad part is that it is a tiny park and tricky to maneuver in, but we were lucky because everyone was leaving the day we arrived. Our site had plenty of room for our 35' Class A including the slides. The best part is that the people are very nice and helpful. There is a beautiful public beach across the street, and a pretty good restaurant next door. I would stay there again, but probably not during their busy season. As others have posted, Riverview in Vidalia, Louisiana was wonderful. It was amazing to us to be able to look out our front window and see the Mississippi River. We only stayed two nights but wish we had stayed longer. Natchez, Misissippi is just across the river and even though it was off season, they had a shuttle to go to town. We didn't get a chance to take advantage of it though. I'd suggest to reserve at least a full day or two for the city of Natchez. There are tours of the Antebellum homes but few are open during the off season. Our first and only day on the trace we got to see the first 33 miles. I bought the book Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway, 2nd Edition, by F. Lynne Bachleda. I found it on Amazon. Although not the most current, it has a lot of info about the stops on and off the Trace. I used the book as we drove to help decide if we wanted to stop, and to learn more about what we saw. It covers the Trace from south to north and has recommendations about where NOT to venture in an RV. It is organized by milepost so it's easy to use. I highly recommend the book or one like it. We also found a list on the Park Service website that listed what was available at each exit (gas, food, campgrounds) and how far away it was. The first and only day, we did 33 miles of the Trace with lots of stops to walk the trails and see the sites. We still had time to go to Vicksburg and drive through the National Military Park. It would have been nice to have a second day to really take our time to fully explore the park. We stayed at Rivertown RV park. It is more of a stopover than a destination, but it was quiet, clean, the people were very nice, and it was close to Walmart, etc. We would definitely stay there again. They had a mobile RV repairman in the area who came out at 8:30 pm to help us. He was great and didn't charge us an arm & a leg. (Greywolf Mobile RV Repair) As far as trip planning, I did realize that we needed more time than we had scheduled. Remember that the Trace is around 400 miles and the speed limit is 50 MPH. I tried to plan things based on driving time, taking into consideration that we would be stopping often for 10-30 minutes at each site we wanted to see. Taking frequent (easy) walks made the drive time easier, but we felt it at the end of the day. It is hard for me to tell you how much time to stay in each area because it really depends on your interests. For example, we could have spent 2 days at the Military Park in Vicksburg, but not the town itself. Also, we were there in the off season so there were no crowds, traffic was light, and local RV parks were mostly empty. (We did not schedule any camping on the Trace campgrounds because there are no hookups.) I like your idea of dividing the Trace, but I think I'd divide it up into four sections and spend about three weeks total for the trip. I'm really sorry I can't give you any personal experience after Vicksburg. A guide book will be really helpful to better plan your time and calculate driving distances based on your interests. We really loved the small part we saw (so did our dogs) and we want to go back. Oh yeah, watch out for ticks on the trails. I hope this helps!

Thanks. We have reservations at Riverview. It looks beautiful and I'm glad to hear it is recommended. We are going to map out the rest of our trip today. I'll keep the Tupelo park in mind. We want to stay at David Crockett park and will plan our mileage around that stop. One of the things we like about the Trace is the speed limit and lack of commercial vehicle traffic.

Since we are traveling in an off season month (August) does anyone know if campground reservations are absolutely necessary? I've never traveled without them before. I know people do it all the time, but I'm a chicken and worry we won't be able to find a place for the night. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions!

We're starting in Natchez, MS and driving the entire parkway to the end in Tennessee.

We will be driving the Natchez Trace Parkway in August. Can anyone recommend campgrounds along the way? We prefer full hookups and travel in a 35' Class A. Unfortunately, the State campgrounds on the Trace do not have any hookups. We'll most likely spend three or four days sightseeing and don't ming driving off the Trace to camp. Thanks!