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The Rocky Springs Campsite, Port Gibson, Mississippi
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Rocky Springs Campground, Natchez Trace Parkway
The campground is located on the Natchez Trace Parkway at mile post 54.8 near Port Gibson, Mississippi.
Coordinates:
32.087200, -90.798850
Elevation:
180 feet
The Ancients
First Migration
(The Algonquian Cultures)
The Earth
The Modern Man
The Steps
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Onsite:
Town of Rocky Springs: Access to the ruins is by a trail that leads from the campground or by road to a parking lot, which then the same trail leads to the old town. There are signs that describe what Rocky Springs was before it was abandoned.
The area was first settled in the late 1790′s, at a watering place along the Natchez Trace, and a town grew which took its name from the source of that water, a rocky springs. By 1860, the population had grown to 2,616 people who lived in town and in the expanded area of 25 square miles.
The actual town population included three merchants, four physicians, four teachers, three clergy and 13 artisans. The surrounding farming community included 54 planters, 28 overseers and over 2,000 slaves who nurtured the cotton crop that supported the town.
It was a combination of the Civil War, yellow fever, destructive boll weevils, poor land management brought an end to the once prosperous community.
Nearby:
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General Information:
Natchez Trace Parkway, Milepost 54.8
This campground has 22 free sites which are on a first come, first serve basis.
The site is maintained by the National Park Service.
Fees:
All Fees are subject to change.
Camping:
Free
Campground Includes:
Each site has a picnic table and fire pit.
There are flush toilets in the campground but no showers.
There are no hookups or dump station.
Comments:
For the last several years that I have been stopping here, the campground has been under construction, or it seems to be but nothing has been done to improve the areas that need to be repaired, but the construction barricades remain throughout the site. The road is filled with holes, the bathroom has no electricity and the men's door dose not close. Much of the site is in general disarray.
However, the site does still have water and camping is still free.
New Makeover
Upon arriving during my 2021 journey, I find that the construction is complete, the roadway has been paved and one restroom in the campground remodeled. The second restroom has been permanently closed.
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The 2023 Journey,
Rocky Springs Campground
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The 2021 Journey
Rocky Springs Campground
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(Day
898 TG) 35°F. 7:30 am, sunny
After crossing the Mississippi river, I stop briefly at the Natchez visitors center and not finding a place here to overnight, I drive to the Natchez Trace and begin my travel northeast to Rocky Springs campground at mile marker 54, pull in and make camp here for the night.
Upon arriving in my space, I get out my cook pot and begin preparing my Repast. Then, at three in the afternoon, I climb back into the jammer to eat and pound keys to update my journal entry and sdd some photos to this campground page.
Remodeled Restroom
This visit, I see that much by the way of correcting the deficiencies has occurred. The mens door was replaced, new lights installed and the rest rooms even have toilet paper now.
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The 2017 Journey,
Rocky Springs Campground
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The Wayƒarers Journal.
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See Ya above the Treeline!
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This Page Last Updated: 31 March 2026
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