Trail of Tears Benge Route on the Natchez Trace, Milepost 400.2
in Alabama · centroid 46 mi from Nashville
The detachment led by John Benge began its journey from Wills Valley, eight miles south of Fort Payne, Alabama. The detachment of 1,090 people passed through Huntsville and Gunter’s Landing in Alabama and Reynoldsburg Landing on the Tennessee River in Tennessee, and probably Columbia, Kentucky. An unimproved path near here at Sheboss Place, milepost 400.2, along the Natchez Trace Parkway is where they crossed into Hickman County.
The Benge detachment ended their journey near present-day Stilwell, Oklahoma, on January 17, 1839. The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail commemorates the forced removal of Cherokee from their homelands; the paths that 17 Cherokee detachments followed westward; and the revival of the Cherokee Nation. The trail passes through 9 different states including Alabama and Tennessee.
The sites on the trail, stretching 5,043 miles, form a journey of compassion and understanding. See Trail of Tears on the Natchez Trace for additional information.
- States
- Alabama
- Trail type
- Parkway trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Nashville, TN · 46 mi · ~1.3 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 35.6592°, -87.3251°
About Natchez Trace Parkway
This trail is inside Natchez Trace Parkway, a parkway managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/trail-of-tears-benge-route-on-the-natchez-trace.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Trail of Tears Benge Route on the Natchez Trace, Milepost 400.2 and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Totty Lane bicycle camp, Milepost 408, southern terminus of Highland Rim - Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail
6 miles from this trail's centroid
Footsteps Through History Trail, Milepost 385.9
13 miles from this trail's centroid
Trail of Tears Bell Route on the Natchez Trace, Milepost 370
28 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.