Becoming a Tourist with Kids: Leiper’s Fork

I’m not going to lie, I don’t really want to go back.

I was so excited to go and take my parents because people raved about Leiper’s fork. But I just didn’t see the hype.

I will give the caveat that if I had a lot of money to spend and it was just a girls day or a date night, it might have been different. Overall though, I was not impressed.

NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY - 10/10

To start on a positive note, I will say that we all LOVED Natchez Trace Parkway.

I highly recommend the Natchez Trace Parkway, hiking and waterfalls. We did Fall Hollow and Jackson Falls. It hadn’t rained in a few weeks so we had low expectations going in. Fall Hollows did have a decent amount of water and due to the lack of rain we were able to go walk around at the bottom and actually play. If it had been more, we probably would not have been able to do that. Jackson Falls, on the other hand, was basically dry. If you’re going to go explore the falls, make sure there will be water.

Fall Hollows: VERY steep, practically vertical. We had no idea the difficulty level of this hike before we did it. We were with my parents who are in great health and we had the kids. I would not have done that with kids again. There were very few railings, a lot of sharp drop offs and we had to form a chain to get down certain parts. If you have bad knees, little kids, you’re alone or it’s been super wet, I would not do this one.

Jackson Falls: A fairly easy walk. It is steep at some points. Again, there were some railings but they were flimsy and the drops off were pretty high. I’d say this is an okay hike to do with your kids but do not do it unless you have one adult per child. We held hands or carried them the entire way down to the falls and on the way back up. It’s better to be safe than sorry. I personally don’t find these to be solo-mom-trip-worthy unless you had older kids who you would trust implicitly to follow direction and be self-aware.

The iconic Natchez Trace bridge, right past Leiper’s Fork, is sadly now completely covered with metal and barbed wire fences. It is good in that it will prevent a lot of deaths, it was a well-known spot for such occurrences. It is sad in that it’s not beautiful to go over or under anymore. But I would obviously rather have people alive. So if you’re going there expecting that bridge, throw out that expectation.

Now let’s chat about Leiper’s Fork.

The actual town is one that you hop off of Natchez Trace and stop into.

When we actually pulled into town, I wasn’t impressed with the parking or the food situation.

FOOD - 4/10

We went to Fox and Locke, the only restaurant open, it had cool vibes, great live music, only, it was Puckett’s renamed and so the food was.. well, if you know you know.

SHOPPING - 5/10

Afterwords we walked across the street to the few boutiques in town. They were gorgeous but definitely very pricy and not at all kid friendly. I will say, Patina had Toups & Co. makeup and skincare! I was excited about that and got a blush stick. If you need their makeup and don’t want to order online, head over there!

BATHROOMS - 0/10

To make matters worse, the only bathroom available in the entire town was at Fox and Locke or at the Shell station which we would’ve had to drive to. I went back into the maze of tables in Fox and Locke, with a baby who had a full blow out, only to realize there was no changing table at all. I hiked it back down the steep rocky hill, with the leaking baby, to the car, almost sliding down at one point, and I was done.

LEIPER’S FORK DISTILLERY - 8/10

We quickly left and stopped into Leiper’s Fork Distillery. We got there an hour before closing and we were still served at the bar. The flights were good. They were out of a lot of drinks but I tried a honey Kentucky Mule. I wouldn’t say I loved it, but it was decent.  The kids had fun running around and it probably would have been even better if the live music was still playing! I would definitely go back there for a tour and tasting without the kids.

Overall I think Leiper’s Fork is overrated and if I had to do the day again I would’ve enjoyed Natchez Trace, swung by the Distillery and finished the day off with dinner at Loveless Cafe at the very end of the trail. I’ve been to Loveless a few times and it’s delicious, great vibes and has a few fun shops. It’s also much more kid-friendly!

At the end of the day we had fun, explored an area we hadn’t given a chance and we made great memories. Go be a tourist in your state!