Old Trace Road: Tennessee

Take a quiet ride back through time as we trace 2.4 serene miles of Old Trace Road through Tennessee’s Laurel Hill Wildlife Management Area, a stretch that hints at the early days of frontier travel and the enduring legacy of the Natchez Trace. Nestled in the rolling wooded hills of southern Lewis County, this short but evocative route offers a rare opportunity to drive on a portion of the original trace—a narrow, lightly traveled byway once worn into the landscape by Native Americans, Kaintucks, and early settlers journeying between Nashville and Natchez.

We begin our drive at the southern entrance to the Old Trace Road, just off the modern Natchez Trace Parkway, where a simple turnoff leads us into a world seemingly untouched by time. The pavement ends quickly, replaced by a well-maintained gravel road that meanders gently northward beneath a shaded canopy of hardwoods and evergreens. The forest closes in around us, thick with hickory, oak, and pine, the sunlight dappled and the air still. This isn’t just a route—it’s a passage into a deeper, quieter Tennessee, one where the noise of the modern world is muffled by rustling leaves and birdsong.

As we press on, the terrain gently undulates, revealing traces of the old roadbed cut into the hillsides. Wildlife sightings are common here too; deer, turkey, and even the occasional fox make this road part of their daily rounds in the Laurel Hill WMA, a state-managed conservation area open to hikers, hunters, and those simply looking to reconnect with the land. The road curves through thick stands of forest, crossing narrow ridgelines and dipping into shallow hollows, echoing the natural rhythms that shaped this path centuries ago.

Nearing the northern end of our journey, the road emerges once again near the modern parkway, concluding our short but meaningful drive through this preserved remnant of American history. It’s a drive best taken slowly—windows down, senses open, and imagination engaged. The Old Trace Road may not be long, but in its gravel surface and silent woods lies a depth of story that few highways can match. It’s a living reminder of the journeys that shaped the South, the migration routes that defined the early Republic, and the enduring power of landscape to hold memory.