Trace State Park
Tupelo, Mississippi
How
would you like to spend the weekend riding great trails and visit the home of
the King all at the same weekend?
You can do that with a visit to Trace State Park in Northeastern Mississippi, which is only nine miles west of Tupelo, on Highway 6. If you're not up on rock and roll history, Tupelo is birth place of Elvis Presley.
The trails at Trace Lake are just what you would expect when you want a fun ride. There are 25 miles of multi-use trails that can be used by ATVs, motorcycles, mountain bikes, horses or hikers.
The area features hilly, steep climbs and steep downhills as well as easy trails for new or not so gutsy riders. Much of the park is heavily wooded, but there are low slough areas also.
When
you arrive at Trace State Park the first thing you will want to do is to stop
in at the park office and sign a waiver release, pay your $5 fee per ATV, and
pick up a map and park rules.
Riders between 6 and 21 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
The park has a few rules that we think every rider should practice. Helmet use is required. Riding of passengers is prohibited, unless your ATV is designed specifically by the manufacturer to carry passengers. Your vehicle must also have a properly functioning spark arrestor and muffler that doesn't exceed 90 dB (most stock exhausts are well under this limit).
The
trails are open from 8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days a year. Trail heads are day
use only and no camping is allowed at the trail heads. But nearby you nave many
stay-over options.
There
are 52 improved RV sites that have electric, water and sewer hookups, running
from $14 to $16 a day depending on what services you need. Sites are on a first-come,
first-served basis. There is also a bath house with hot showers and a laundromat.
Tent
camping is available for $10 per tent. If you don’t have an RV or don’t like
sleeping on the ground in a tent there are two large cabins, with three queen-size
beds that rent for $84 per night, Friday and Saturday. There are also four smaller
cabins with a single queen bed in each that run $55 a night, Friday and Saturday.
All
cabins have a kitchen and bathroom. There is a weekday discount on cabins.
Park Manager Donald Campbell recently received Recreational Trail Program grants and added more bathrooms. He also bought new equipment for grooming and maintaining the trails.
For more information, contact Trace State Park, 2139 Faulkner Rd., Belden, MS 38826; telephone (662) 484-2958; or e-mail tracesp@ayrix.net.
Or you can visit their website at www.mdwfp.com.
Do you know a great riding area that you would like to share with your fellow ATVers? You can, and it's easy to do. Just write down everything you think a fellow quadder would want to know about the area, and e-mail it to editor@atvaonline.com, or send by mail to ATVA, 13515 Yarmouth Dr., Pickerington, OH 43147. Also, don't forget to send a photo or two from your ride.