If you want scenery and don't mind driving 45mph take the Natchez Trace Parkway: http://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm Take your time and stop at the stop offs.
If you like Cival War stuff you will like Vicksburg. In another post I recommended: http://monmouthplantation.com/ This is a really great plantation to stay in Natchaz! YOu will love it!

Thanks for your reply. So the trace would be scenic this time of the year? Any other scenic places near by?

I have another question, will smoky moutains/ashville be a better alternative considering what I wrote in the first post?

I am open to any other suggestions as well as long as it is less than a 10 hr drive one way. Thanks.

This time of year the Smokey mountains could be full of snow. I don't know. Your question about the Natchaz Trace scenic value is a good one. I would call th Natchaz Trace Parkway National Park and ask that very question: 1-800-305-7417.

We traveled the Natchez Trace Parkway back in December. There was still some Fall colour so it was very pretty but what I liked most was the serenity and silence of the drive. It was lovely, especially after driving on the Interstate. We stopped at the Locust House, an old cotton plantation/ farm. You can walkthrough the house and down to the slave cemetery. With no one else around it's very easy to imagine what the place might have looked like in it's plantation days and there's lots of info on the boards at the ranger's station nearby.
We only passed through Natchez itself but we took time to visit 'Forks in the Road' and wander some of the gorgeous shops in the main street.

http://demansersintheusa.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/the-mighty-mississippi.html

considering how long the trace is, where should we enter and exit?

Just get on the Trace at Jackson, MS, and then exit at Natchez. It should take about the same amount of time as using the standard routes that mapping programs like Google Maps and Maquest suggest.

You could either enter the Trace from I-55 at Ridgeland, north of Jackson, or you could take I-220 to I-80 West and then enter the Trace at Clinton.

By the way, Pilgrimage starts this weekend in Natchez. A great time to visit, but if you don't have accommodations reserved already I'm guessing they might be a bit difficult to get at such short notice.

http://www.natchezpilgrimage.com/natchez-spring-pilgrimage.php

I went to Natchez with my parents, and one of the most interesting things we did was drive out of town to the cemeteries. There's a cemetery that has incredible ironwork around each family plot, all different types,t it really is a feast for the eyes if you're interested in that kind of thing at all.

We entered the Trace at Nashville and left at Natchez for a few days and then on to Vicksburg for a day and night

Thanks all for all the info. Really appreciate it. This is probably a dumb question, but i will have my gps set to natchez, in that case how do in enter the trace at lets say jackson? Do I need to set my gps or there would be road signs?

Any ideas about accommodations? We dont really want anything fancy, just a decent inexpensive place would be great.

So if i have 3 days in my hand excluding travel time, should I spend all the time in natchez or do something else? I have never been anywhere close to natchez, so have no idea about the place and the surrounding area.

thanks.

As I posted, really recommend Vicksburg:http://www.nps.gov/vick/index.htm And then go to the city cemetery where the southern military guys are buried.

There is a well-marked entrance to the Trace about 8-10 miles west of Jackson on I-10, but as cd recommended, with the time you have available, I'd spend a day in Vicksburg in lieu of driving the Trace. Driving to Natchez from Vicksburg on Hwy 61 also allows you to see the town of Port Gibson.

I have no real recommendations about accomodations except that the usual motel chains are well-represented in Vicksburg. I'm not sure about Natchez but I assume there are some there as well as some Bed & Breakfasts.

As an aside, I strongly recommend checking out the ante-bellum home Longwood in Natchez. It is very different from other ante-bellum homes in Mississippi and well worth seeing.

Assuming you are headed south on I-55, yes there will be signs for the Trace north of Jackson.

The exit to the Trace that is west of Jackson is from I-20 (not I-80, which is far to the north— I got it mixed up with US 80, which runs parallel to I-20—or I-10, which is on the Gulf Coast).

If you also go to Vicksburg, then you can take make a triangle Jackson-Natchez-Vicksburg-Jackson (or vice versa) following Natchez Trace Parkway/US 61/Interstate 20 (or vice versa).

Note that the Trace goes very near Port Gibson and there are exits for the town from the Trace, so you don't have to miss it even if you skip Vicksburg.

You REALLY need to check out the http://www.natchezpilgrimage.com/natchez-spring-pilgrimage.php website before you go. DIfferent houses are open each day during Pilgrimage. Scroll down the page to see the 8 three-house tour packages.

Info on tickets is available at http://www.nptshop.com/category.sc?categoryId=8 (I don't know if tickets can sell out)

If there are certain houses you want to visit, you need to make a plan in advance so you are not disappointed when you get there and find out they aren't on that day's schedule. You can decided whether to spend a day in Vicksburg before or after Natchez based on what you want to do in Natchez.

Hi Sam...We're glad you're coming to visit Natchez and would be more than happy to help you with planning your stay. Please visit our website at www.visitnatchez.org to learn about all the historic homes available for tour, our winery, The Grand Village of the Natchez Indians and more. We have a number of great bed and breakfasts in Natchez, and those can be found on our website as well, along with hotels and restaurants. Your best option from Springfield would be to come down Hwy. 61 from Memphis, and that way you can stop in some of the Delta towns and Vicksburg along the way. The Civil War Battlefield park in V'burg is a driving tour and I think you would enjoy it as a history enthusiast. Please plan to stay at least 2 nights in Natchez because, as you'll see on our website, there is a lot to see and do. Call us at 800-647-6724 if we can help you in any way. See you soon...Natchez