Natchez Trace State Park

Each Spring, we usually take a short family camping trip over a weekend to get the RV out of hibernation, de-winterize it, and make sure everything is in working order. This spring, we decided to go to Natchez Trace State Park. The park is less than a 2-hour drive from our house, and has several campgrounds - one being a full-service RV park on one of the park's 3 lakes (which is a rarity among Tennessee State Parks).

Pin Oak RV Campground is located on Pin Oak Lake, near the South end of the park. We reserved site 76, the last "lake side" site available for the weekend.

Site 76 is in a quiet circle, right beside one of the fingers of the lake. The campsites are quite roomy, fully equipped with electricity, water, sewer, fire ring, and charcoal grill. There is no cable or wi-fi available, but we were able to pick up several Jackson, TN area TV stations using our aerial antenna.

While there are things to do at Natchez Trace State Park (hiking, fishing, mountain biking), I was actually looking for a peaceful weekend without any pressing agenda. Our quiet and spacious site on the lake helped to make that wish a reality. Most of the families with younger kids were camped closer to the swimming beach and playground, so our morning was peaceful and slow-paced. After breakfast, Aaron and I rode our bikes up to the Pin Oak Lodge to check it out and get some park maps.

For lunch, we "brown-bagged" some sandwiches and chips, walked over to the covered picnic pavilion near the swimming area, and enjoyed a relaxing lunch with a view of the lake.

We saw a little "wildlife" in the park. The campground had its own flock of Canadian geese that wandered around looking for scraps to eat - and you can always count on seeing a squirrel here and there. 

Our daughter had to work a shift that Saturday morning. After getting off work, she drove out to the park to meet up with us that afternoon. Once she arrived, we drove up to the Cub Lake area of the park, which boasts a swimming beach, recreation lodge, a couple of tent campgrounds, and hiking trails. Our short excursion provided a perfect opportunity to shoot some photos of the area:

A purple martin resting on a wire inside the boat house.

The bumble bees were out in force.

A martin house right by the swimming beach.

Walking bridge across Cub Lake.

A spider staking out territory on the bridge.

The Cub Lake recreation area has a boat house with Pedal Boats and Jon Boats for rent. However, boat rentals don't open until Memorial Day, and are open through Labor Day.

After we got our fill of the Cub Lake area, we headed back to camp to get ready for dinner and prepare the fire pit for our obligatory camp fire. Tennessee State Parks ban the burning of any non-native firewood. If you don't live in the area and don't have access to a private stash of native wood, firewood can be purchased at the Pin Oak Lodge for $5 a bundle.

After getting the hamburgers off the grill; Haley, Aaron, Angel the dog, and I quickly headed into the woods behind our campsite to see if we could catch the sun setting over the Lake. We weren't quick enough to catch the sun sinking below the horizon, but we were able to catch a little bit of color in the sky after the sun had set.

Check out time at the campground is a generous 12:00 noon - so the next morning, we were still able to have a relaxing morning, taking our time packing up before the deadline.

All-in-all, we really enjoyed our stay at Natchez Trace State Park. It's not a terribly long drive to the park, the campground is nice, and the sites are spacious with a nice view of the lake. I'm sure we will revisit the park again soon.