Potkopinu Map

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Natchez Trace NST Main Page

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The Potkopinu segment of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail (NST) is unique in that it follows the original Natchez Trace for its entire three-mile length. Three of the other four NST segments do not follow the Trace at all, and a fourth, Highland Rim, only follows a small portion of it. Furthermore, being at the southern end of the Trace where the soil is sandy, you have a chance to experience the phenomenon known as the “sunken” Trace. So many men, wagons, and horses used the trail that a gully as deep as ten feet was worn into the ground. You’ll experience 10-foot walls along Potkopinu, though the entire trail is not sunken to this degree.

Sunken Trace

Parking for the southern trailhead of the Potkopinu segment is located on a dirt road at Mile Post 17 on the Natchez Trace Parkway. A sign indicates where to turn, and once you do, the parking lot is about a quarter mile down the road. To get to the actual Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail you must first take a short connector trail from the parking lot.

Parking at the southern trailhead of the Potkipinu segment of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail

Parking for the northern trailhead of the Potkopinu segment of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail can be reached by taking the Highway 553 / River Road exit off of the Natchez Trace Parkway and then turning left. About a mile down is a dirt road that leads to a parking area. Signs point the way. When ready to leave, just continue driving down the dirt road and you’ll come back out on Hwy 553. Turn right to get back to the Parkway.

Northern trailhead parking for the Potkopinu segment of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail

I hiked the first mile of the trail starting at the southern end. The trail was relatively flat and easy to follow, and I suspect the rest of the trail is the same. However, there are a few fallen trees and other debris that you must navigate around, for the gully is like nature’s trash pit. The banks are still wearing away due to erosion, and when a tree ends up at the edge with its roots exposed, it’s just a mater of time before it will topple into the gully. There is nothing particularly scenic or challenging about Potkopinu, so this is a trail you would hike just to be able to say you hiked a portion of the Natchez Trace. Despite its drawbacks, this is the best maintained and easiest segment to follow on the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail.

Tree sits precariously on the side of the trail

I have been told that there are a few creek crossings farther down and that the water can be deep after a rain storm, requiring shoes and socks to be removed before wading across. Also, summer brings ticks, mosquitoes, and poison ivy, so stay away from grass and other greenery as much as possible. I hiked the trail in November and had no problems with bugs. However, there were a lot of spiders on this trail, the type that are big enough to cocoon you if you walk into their webs. I call these “hiker catchers.” I ran into about a half dozen spiders of formidable size on the one-mile stretch I hiked.

Hiker Catcher

Potkopinu follows the longest walk-able section of the original Natchez Trace in existence today. If you don’t have a ride waiting for you at the end, you are now talking about a six-mile, round trip hike, half of which covers the same ground. While hiking on the sunken trail is cool, it’s not that cool. As a result, I only hiked a mile of the trail, a two-mile round trip hike.

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