Trace State Park

About this park

Trace State Park, formerly known as Old Natchez Trace Park, surrounds 565-acre Trace Lake roughly halfway between Pontotoc and Tupelo in northeastern Mississippi, taking its name from the nearby historic Natchez Trace trail that gave the broader region its identity. Local historians note that frontiersman Davy Crockett once lived in the area now occupied by the park, adding a layer of early American frontier history to a landscape otherwise centered on more conventional lake recreation. The park offers a genuinely complete set of water-based activities across its large lake, including water skiing, boat rentals, paddle boats, and both motorized and non-motorized boating, supplemented by horse trails that give equestrian visitors a less common recreational option within the Mississippi state park system. Fifty-two full hookup campsites, six cabins, and extensive tent camping areas give Trace a broad range of overnight accommodations for a park just nine miles from downtown Tupelo. Registered cabin guests at Trace receive complimentary green fees for up to two people per stay at the adjacent Pontotoc Country Club's 18-hole golf course, a genuinely unusual cross-promotional arrangement between a state park and a private golf club that adds real value for overnight visitors. With Oxford just 42 miles to the northwest and Tupelo's own attractions close by, Trace functions as a convenient recreational base for visitors exploring northeastern Mississippi's mix of natural and cultural destinations.