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National Historic Trail

Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail

Plan a Trail Of Tears trip

About Trail Of Tears

Remember and commemorate the survival of the Cherokee people, forcefully removed from their homelands in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee to live in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. They traveled by foot, horse, wagon, or steamboat in 1838-1839.

From the National Park Service.

States
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee
Designation
National Historic Trail
Entrance fee
None listed
  • Trail data for this park is still being added.
  • Places for this park are still being added.

Know before you go

Fees, hours, weather and getting to Trail Of Tears.

Entrance fees

The National Park Service lists no entrance fee for this park.

Hours

Open 24 hours a day, every day.

OPERATING HOURS VARY FROM SITE TO SITE. There are many historic sites, museums, and parks (federal, state, and local) along the Trail of Tears in Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas, Missouri, or Oklahoma for you to visit. Please contact individual sites for more information by going to Plan Your Visit and selecting Places To Go or Passport Program, where sites are listed by state, and there is an interactive map to search for sites.

Weather and when to go

Due to the length of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, be sure to consult local weather sources for the region you'll be visiting. Check out the forecast with the National Weather Service and search for the area you'd like to visit: www.weather.gov

Getting there

You can visit many of the sites along the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail over the 2,200+ mile route that crosses 9 states.

Directions from the National Park Service

Contact the park

Address
National Trails Office Regions 6, 7, & 8, Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, 1100 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87505
Official site
nps.gov/trte

From the National Park Service, checked weekly. Fees, hours and road conditions change: confirm with the park before you go.

Trip planner

A day-by-day plan for Trail Of Tears

Tell us your dates and what you are into. We group the stops by where they are, so each day is one part of the park, not a zigzag.

Plan your park trip Free. No account needed.

Things to do in Trail Of Tears

The park service's own list, with how long each takes.

  • Hike on the Trail of Tears

    Hiking · about 2 hours

    The 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. We en…

  • Discovering the Trail of Tears on the Natchez Trace

    Self-Guided Tours - Auto · about 1 hour

    The Trail of Tears began in May 1838 when Federal troops and state militias began to round up the Cherokee into stockades. In spite of warnings to troops to treat the Cherokee kin…

What to pack for Trail Of Tears

Gear & Essentials

Tell us about your trip and we will add what else you will want:

The basics

Worth having in the car whatever the park.

For this trip

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More park sites in Alabama

All 11 in Alabama All National Trails