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MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi gave the world the blues, and gave it Elvis — born in a two-room house in Tupelo, a few hours east of the Delta juke joints where it all began. That's the Mississippi most people picture. The other one runs quietly alongside it: white-sand coastline and cypress backwaters, bluffs above the water, battlefields gone green, and the great river that gave the state its name.

OUTDOORS IN MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi's outdoors moves at its own pace. Barrier islands sit an hour offshore in the Gulf, an ancient trail runs the length of the state as a scenic parkway, and reservoirs, bayous and river bluffs fill the space between. Cycle it, paddle it, or simply drive it slowly — this is nature with the volume turned down.

TOP OUTDOOR EXPERIENCES

01: NATCHEZ
TRACE PARKWAY

01: NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY

A 444-mile drive through 10,000 years of history, following an ancient trail from Natchez up towards Nashville. The Mississippi stretch passes Jackson, Ridgeland and Tupelo, and it's at its best in autumn. Cycle it, walk sections of the old sunken trace, or pull over for the Native American mounds. In 2025 it was America's fourth most-visited National Park Service site.

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02: COASTAL MISSISSIPPI

02: COASTAL MISSISSIPPI

Not one city but twelve working as one, strung along 62 miles of coastline. Expect white sand, waterfront towns full of galleries and independent shops, and three kitchens — in Biloxi, Gulfport and Ocean Springs — named in the Michelin Guide's first American South selection. It's the most walkable, most laid-back corner of the state.

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03: VICKSBURG

03: VICKSBURG

Vicksburg is where history and the outdoors sit side by side. Cycle the sixteen-mile tour road through Vicksburg National Military Park, where monuments line almost every mile and the old earthworks are still visible in the grass. Then walk down to the riverfront for wide, slow views of the Mississippi — best of all at sunset.

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04: RIDGELAND

04: RIDGELAND

Ridgeland sits on the Barnett Reservoir, a broad sheet of water made for boating and fishing, with the Natchez Trace Parkway running along its edge. Hire a bike from one of the two Ridgeland Bikeshare stations and ride the Chisha Foka Multi-Use Trail — ten paved miles through the Choctaw homelands it's named for, ending at the reservoir overlook.

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05: JACKSON

05: JACKSON

Mississippi's capital does the outdoors its own way. LeFleur's Bluff State Park puts woodland trails and a lake within the city limits, while the 2.5-mile Museum Trail runs on an old railway line from the Two Mississippi Museums downtown out to the museum district. Finish in the Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art — sculpture, native planting and shaded paths, right in the middle of downtown.

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KEY CITIES IN MISSISSIPPI

Coastal Mississippi

Not one city but four working as one: Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs and Bay St. Louis, strung along 62 miles of coastline. Expect white sand, waterfront towns full of galleries and independent shops, and three kitchens — in Biloxi, Gulfport and Ocean Springs — named in the Michelin Guide's first American South selection. It's the most walkable, most laid-back corner of the state.

Jackson

Mississippi's capital is where the state tells its own story straight. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum sits at the heart of it, and its sister museum next door carries the history around it. Beyond the galleries, Jackson has quietly become a dining city: Elvie's, a Belhaven bistro, holds one of only two Michelin Bib Gourmands in the state.

Oxford

A university town with a literary pedigree few places can match. William Faulkner lived and wrote here, and the town has kept his sensibility: bookshops, a courthouse square, long lunches. Three kitchens on or near the Square are Michelin-listed, and in spring the Double Decker Arts Festival fills it with music, art and crowds.

Tupelo

Elvis Presley was born here, in a two-room house his father built by hand — and it's still standing, at the centre of a museum campus telling the story of his early years. Tupelo is also the natural base for the Natchez Trace Parkway, which runs past the town and has its main visitor centre nearby.

Natchez

The oldest town on the Mississippi River, and one of the most architecturally intact in the South. Longwood — an octagonal mansion left unfinished when its builders downed tools in 1861 — is the one everybody comes for. Add the Wyatt Waters Gallery, bluff-top views over the river, and the southern end of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Coastal Mississippi

Jackson

Oxford

Tupelo

Natchez

KEY CITIES IN MISSISSIPPI

Coastal Mississippi

Not one city but four working as one: Biloxi, Gulfport, Ocean Springs and Bay St. Louis, strung along 62 miles of coastline. Expect white sand, waterfront towns full of galleries and independent shops, and three kitchens — in Biloxi, Gulfport and Ocean Springs — named in the Michelin Guide's first American South selection. It's the most walkable, most laid-back corner of the state.

Jackson

Mississippi's capital is where the state tells its own story straight. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum sits at the heart of it, and its sister museum next door carries the history around it. Beyond the galleries, Jackson has quietly become a dining city: Elvie's, a Belhaven bistro, holds one of only two Michelin Bib Gourmands in the state.

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Oxford

A university town with a literary pedigree few places can match. William Faulkner lived and wrote here, and the town has kept his sensibility: bookshops, a courthouse square, long lunches. Three kitchens on or near the Square are Michelin-listed, and in spring the Double Decker Arts Festival fills it with music, art and crowds.

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Tupelo

Elvis Presley was born here, in a two-room house his father built by hand — and it's still standing, at the centre of a museum campus telling the story of his early years. Tupelo is also the natural base for the Natchez Trace Parkway, which runs past the town and has its main visitor centre nearby.

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Natchez

The oldest town on the Mississippi River, and one of the most architecturally intact in the South. Longwood — an octagonal mansion left unfinished when its builders downed tools in 1861 — is the one everybody comes for. Add the Wyatt Waters Gallery, bluff-top views over the river, and the southern end of the Natchez Trace Parkway.

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OTHER EXPERIENCES IN MISSISSIPPI

Cruisin' the Coast

Every October, more than 10,000 antique, classic and hot rod cars roll along the 30-mile beachside stretch of Highway 90, with show-and-shine stops in Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis and Ocean Springs. Billed as America's Largest Block Party, it's been voted the country's best car show six years running. Live bands, swap meets and a parade come as standard.

Rowan Oak

William Faulkner bought this white-columned house on the edge of Oxford in 1930 and lived here until his death. It's been left much as he had it, including the outline of his novel A Fable, which he wrote directly onto the study wall in pencil. The cedar-lined approach and wooded grounds are open to walk.

Elvis Presley Birthplace

Elvis was born in Tupelo in 1935, in a two-room shotgun house his father built. The house survives, and around it has grown a museum, a chapel, and the church the family worshipped in, moved here piece by piece. It's a modest, moving place, and a useful measure of how far he travelled.

The Two Mississippi Museums

Two museums under one roof in Jackson: the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, opened together so that neither story could be told without the other. The Civil Rights galleries are unflinching and superbly done. The Mississippi Museum of Art, with its Art Garden, is a short walk away.

Natchez Balloon Festival

Each autumn, hot air balloons lift off from the bluffs above the Mississippi River and drift out over Natchez, one of the more spectacular ways to see the river. The festival runs alongside the Natchez Fall Pilgrimage, when the town's historic houses, Longwood among them, open their doors to visitors.

Cruisin' the Coast

Rowan Oak

Elvis Presley Birthplace

The Two Mississippi Museums

Natchez Balloon Festival

OTHER EXPERIENCES IN MISSISSIPPI

Cruisin' the Coast

Every October, more than 10,000 antique, classic and hot rod cars roll along the 30-mile beachside stretch of Highway 90, with show-and-shine stops in Biloxi, Gulfport, Bay St. Louis and Ocean Springs. Billed as America's Largest Block Party, it's been voted the country's best car show six years running. Live bands, swap meets and a parade come as standard.

Rowan Oak

William Faulkner bought this white-columned house on the edge of Oxford in 1930 and lived here until his death. It's been left much as he had it, including the outline of his novel A Fable, which he wrote directly onto the study wall in pencil. The cedar-lined approach and wooded grounds are open to walk.

Elvis Presley Birthplace

Elvis was born in Tupelo in 1935, in a two-room shotgun house his father built. The house survives, and around it has grown a museum, a chapel, and the church the family worshipped in, moved here piece by piece. It's a modest, moving place, and a useful measure of how far he travelled.

The Two Mississippi Museums

Two museums under one roof in Jackson: the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, opened together so that neither story could be told without the other. The Civil Rights galleries are unflinching and superbly done. The Mississippi Museum of Art, with its Art Garden, is a short walk away.

Natchez Balloon Festival

Each autumn, hot air balloons lift off from the bluffs above the Mississippi River and drift out over Natchez, one of the more spectacular ways to see the river. The festival runs alongside the Natchez Fall Pilgrimage, when the town's historic houses, Longwood among them, open their doors to visitors.

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