Mile 363.0 - Natchez Bridge

John Ruskey

20 Apr 2026 � 1 min read

363 Natchez Bridge

The Natchez Bluffs make several final expressions as you push on downstream, one being the bridge bluff itself, with a second prominence following. US 84 and US 98 cross the Mississippi River over the Natchez Bridge. A Victorian House and Natchez B&B straddle the second prominence, looking like they might fall down the steep kudzu-covered cliffs. The building situated most closely to the precipice of the bluff is the BriarVue, constructed in the early 1980’s. It serves as a bar and restaurant with a spectacular view of the river and the low lying grounds of Louisiana. You can paddle into the base of either of them for close-up inspection of loess geology here, but save your time for the best bluffs are yet to come, at the Tunica Hills (best seen below Clark Creek, and below Tunica Bayou).

More from this section

Vicksburg

Vicksburg Vicksburg marks a significant change of geography for the Lower Mississippi River paddler. Vicksburg heralds the end of the Mississippi Delta and the beginning of the Mississippi Loess Bluffs. From here down to St. Francisville there are no continuous levees on the Mississippi side because of the high ground

Mile 363.5 - LBD Natchez-Under-the-Hill

363.5 LBD Natchez-Under-the-Hill Steep concrete ramp diving into the river at the base of the Natchez Bluffs, the best place to make a landing and a visit to the classy river town of Natchez. After you make landing and get your land legs, stroll up to the top of

Mile 365.0 - RBD Opening to Old River -- Bottom End (Marengo Bend Lake)

365 RBD Opening to Old River -- Bottom End (Marengo Bend Lake) Only access to Marengo Lake/Old River. Public boat launch 8 miles around the outside bend of the lake (west side). The water never gets too low to paddle into the bottom end of Marengo Lake for a

Mile 367.5 - RBD Opening to Old River -- Top End (Marengo Bend Lake)

367.5 RBD Opening to Old River -- Top End (Marengo Bend Lake) Previous to 1933 the Mississippi made a giant curve around Marengo Bend into the rich Louisiana bottomlands before curving back to slam into the bluffs at Natchez. The Giles Cutoff changed that, resulting in the 10-mile long

Mile 367.0 - LBD Devil’s Punchbowl

367 LBD Devil’s Punchbowl “Far in the past, a great cup-shaped hole, about five hundred feet wide, had formed in the soft earth of the river bluffs. Slowly it seemed to widen, as gullies formed along its sides and rows of trees hurtled into its depths. Thickly grown, it

Mile 367.0 - Miles 367-365: LBD Remnants of Cypress Forest

367 - 365 LBD Remnants of Cypress Forest In low and medium water levels, the stumps of giant cypress trees can be seen at the base of the bluffs along the left bank descending and are the remnants of the forests found here that stalled the opening of the Giles