NATCHEZ — In celebration of National Park Week, the Melrose mansion will be open for free tours today, Wednesday and Sunday.

The tours will be at 10 and 11 a.m. and 2 and 3 p.m. on each day. The mansion will have a newly furnished bathroom exhibit that includes the original bathing fixture from the antebellum Dunleith.

“It is a beautiful spring here in Natchez,” said Natchez National Historical Park Superintendent Kathleen Bond. “We have new walking trails, so it is a good time for people to come out and enjoy being in their national parks.”

New historic fencing has also been added to the grounds at Melrose as well as accessible trails from the visitors center out to the slave quarters and down into the gardens.

The William Johnson House will be open all day from April 21-23. It is always free to visit.

Unfortunately, Bond said, National Park Week hit during a time in which the National Park Service is having to temporarily cut back its hours due to low staffing.

“It is not a reflection of funding, it is just a glitch in the process,” she said. “We had people moving around faster than we could backfill them.”

Melrose will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays through Wednesdays. Tours are offered at 10 and 11 a.m. and 2 and 3 p.m. The William Johnson House will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.

To inquire about a group tour at either site, contact Melissa Tynes at melissa_tynes@nps.gov.

The Natchez Tricentennial and the National Park Service Centennial fall at the same time, Bond said.

“We are cross-branding all of our efforts,” she said. “We have two tricentennial projects: the Legends and Lore series every Monday and the Natchez History Minutes.”

Legends and Lore begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Historic Natchez Foundation. Natchez History Minutes can be viewed on the Natchez Historical Park’s website at www.nps.gov/natc/index.htmNatchez is also home to the southern end of the Natchez Trace. People are welcome to visit the park service’s centennial celebration event in Ridgeland at the Parkway Information Cabin from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Trace Traditions, which plays blues and country favorites, will put on live music from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A Dutch oven cooking demonstration will also take place, and visitors are welcome to make a fun craft to take home.