A Southern Mississippi road trip takes me through Hattiesburg, Natchez, Vicksburg, and Jackson, with a few surprise backroad encounters along the way!
A Mississippi road trip has been on my bucket list for eons, and not long ago my wish became a reality. When I learned that a drive from my home in Central Florida to Hattiesburg was inevitable, I reached out to my friends at Visit Vicksburg and Visit Mississippi, who in turn contacted their friends at Visit Natchez and Visit Jackson, and together they designed a perfect week-long itinerary of Civil War and Civil Rights historical sites through the Central and Southern regions of the state. As their guest, I enjoyed some of the best experiences Mississippi has to offer!
In this round-up of my 6-part Southern Mississippi Road Trip series, I have organized all of the articles sequentially so that readers may follow my experiences in the order in which they occurred.
Table of Contents
Part 1: Hattiesburg
The first leg of my journey took me from Central Florida to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and more importantly to the University of Southern Mississippi where I delivered my books and author papers to the archive of the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection. This experience was a defining moment in the transition from my first chapter as a public school teacher to my second chapter as a travel writer.
Part 2: Natchez
Leaving Hattiesburg, I headed west to Natchez where I would tour four antebellum homes and encounter the cultural side of this historical city situated on a bluff overlooking the Mighty Mississippi.
Part 3: Mississippi Backroads
The route between Natchez and Vicksburg would take me along a section of the Natchez Trace Parkway and ultimately on some of Mississippi’s most remote backroads to explore a ghost town, walk among ancient ruins, and eat the world’s best fried chicken.
Part 4: Vicksburg
Arriving in Vicksburg, I checked in at a historical B&B, visited two museums, ate more fried chicken, and toured Mississippi’s most haunted house.
Part 5: Vicksburg NMP
But the highlight of my time in Vicksburg was a guided tour of the National Military Park where we drove the Union and Confederate lines, experienced the USS Cairo Gunboat & Museum, and visited the National Cemetery.
Part 6: Jackson
The final destination on my itinerary was Jackson, where I sampled highlights of the city’s historical and literary driving tours, including visits to the homes of southern writer Eudora Welty and slain Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers.
Bonus: Rodney
A supplement to our Southern Mississippi Road Trip series is a magnificent photoessay by Mississippi photographer Ashleigh Coleman that explores the ghost town of Rodney and its haunting history.
Let there be no doubt . . . I LOVE Mississippi! Its rich history and culture intrigue me to this day, and I cannot wait to return and explore even more of this amazing state!
More Mississippi Destinations
We have visited even more amazing Mississippi destinations since that first Southern Mississippi Road Trip. Read all about them at the links below.
Elvis in Tupelo: Discover the King’s Mississippi Roots
Brices Crossroads & Tupelo National Battlefield: Mississippi’s Final Stands
Two Mississippi Museums Chronicle State & Civil Rights History
Searching for Emmett Till: A Mississippi Delta Pilgrimage
Explore African American Heritage Sites in Hattiesburg MS
Map It!
We Would Love to Hear From You
We enjoy dialogue with our readers, especially when they share off-the-beaten-path destinations and useful travel tips. Have you ever roadtripped Mississippi? If so, we would love to hear about your experience. We invite you to leave your comments and questions below, and we always respond!
Pin this Post!
On the stuffy side, “Mr. Blount” has been a writer, consultant, and published author with the likes of Simon & Schuster and McGraw-Hill. Recently retired from a 35-year career as a middle school teacher, Howard enjoys spending his time on anything that includes mountains, waterfalls, dachshunds, gospel choirs, books, restored classic movies on Blu-ray, HDTV, autumn, sandhill cranes, hot springs, Florida springs, rain and other gloomy weather, log cabins, cracker shacks, abandoned sites, unearthed history, genealogy, museums, documentaries, To Kill a Mockingbird, scenic and historical sites, castles, cathedrals, the Civil War, cold sheets, National and State Park Passports, quotes, the Rambos, Dionne Warwick, Steely Dan, Doobies, Diet Pepsi, Fish City Grill, anything Apple, all things British, Jesus, and lists.
And on a random note, Howard is a fourth cousin once removed to Truman Capote.
Planning a road trip down the Mississippi for May next year. Enjoyed your blog and will definitely follow your suggestions. However going further down towards New Orleans, apart from the obvious, any bright ideas/suggestions for us to explore? Please.
Thank you,
Brigitte
Hi Brigitte! Mississippi and Louisiana are two of my favorite roadtripping states. If you enjoy history, the Louisiana plantations are directly on the route between Natchez and New Orleans. We have lots of content on Backroad Planet for both Mississippi and Louisiana. If you navigate to those links, I am sure you will find all the information you need to plan your itinerary. Have the best time!
I’m on it………..wow…….so much to see ?!
Thank you for your very interesting blogs and your prompt reply.
All the best,
B.
Hi there,
Planning a Mississippi road trip for me and my husband in October. We love antebellum mansions, history, and antiques, and leaving from our home in Georgia to Natchez. Any suggestions?
Hi Roseann! This post links to all of the destinations on my Southern Mississippi road trip itinerary. You can scroll up to review all of the destinations, or you can navigate to Visit Historical Natchez, Mississippi for more information.
Thank you!
Just back from a two week holiday in USA visiting family and taking in some Mississippi Blues Trail Markers. Started off in Orlando drove to Panama City FL, Biloxi FL, New Orleans LA, up to Jackson MS visiting Clarksdale, Indianola, Greenville, Rolling Fork. From Jackson down to Tallahassee St Augustine, Palm Coast and Daytona Beach before handing back the rental car with an inch and a half of bugs on the front grill. Loved every minute of it (even tho you can still get lost with a satnav) Can’t wait to do another road trip!
That sounds like an EPIC road trip, Ged! So glad you enjoyed it and hope you get to come back soon.
This takes me back to our trip around the ‘deep south’ earlier in the year. We visited Natchez which was a sleepy town would have loved to have stopped off in more of these towns, can’t believe we didn’t do Jackson
I love roadtripping Mississippi, Mellissa, and cannot wait to return and drive more of the backroads and visit historical sites.
I really need a week to get out and expore the Delta like this, Howard. There’s so much cool stuff to see in the south, especially Vicksburg for a history nerd like me. Btw, love the layout of your site as well! Really something for me to look at with my own.
Thanks, Carl! For some reason this comment went to spam. Hope your comments are not being spammed on other sites. I appreciate your thoughts on our layout. I am not completely satisfied with it, and I am always looking for ways to make it more user-friendly. If you have any suggestions, don’t hesitate to let me know. Thanks for stopping by!
I’ll be swinging by Mississippi in a few weeks and was curious about visiting Rodney, especially now after the recent storm hitting the region. I wonder if ghosts enjoy hurricaines?
I can’t say whether ghosts enjoy hurricanes, Mark, but they sure get their share of floods in Rodney.
Truly Mississippi is really a fascinating state. I’ve remembered my professor and his wife have done visiting that place last month and he kept on sharing it with us. Really, I’ve got inspired by his story plus this article. I’ve got inspired to travel Mississippi too, I want to explore the whole US.
Glad to help, Nika! I love Mississippi, as well.