Mississippi

Top 10 Places

(Pictures and places in bold are places I have been to.)

10. Dunn’s Falls, Meridian

9. Jones County – “The Free State of Jones”: City of Ellisville – the old county seat

8. Oxford (a small town gem) – University of Mississippi and William Faulkner House

7. Gulf Islands National Seashore (shared with Florida) and the Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area

6. Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area

      • Tupelo National Battlefield
      • Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site
      • Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum

5. Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area

      • Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale
      • B.B. King Museum in Indianola
      • Catfish Museum and 2000 year old Cypress tree in Belzoni
USS Cairo Museum, Vicksburg National Military Park
USS Cairo Museum, Vicksburg National Military Park

4. Vicksburg National Military Park – plus Vicksburg (a small town gem)

Grand Village of the Natchez State Historic Site
Grand Village of the Natchez State Historic Site

3. Indian Mounds of Mississippi

      • Emerald Mound (part of the Natchez Trace Parkway, a unit of the National Park Service – see below)
      • Grand Village of the Natchez – a state historic site
      • Winterville Mounds State Park
      • Bynum Mounds (part of the Natchez Trace Parkway)
      • Pharr Mounds (part of the Natchez Trace Parkway)
Emerald Mound, a Natchez Trace Parkway site
Emerald Mound, a Natchez Trace Parkway site
Port Gibson civil rights mural
Port Gibson civil rights mural

2. Natchez Trace Parkway (a National Park Service unit and an All-American Road – also in Alabama and Tennessee) and the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail, including the following highlights in Mississippi, from south to north:

      • Emerald Mound (see above)
      • Natchez State Park
      • Mount Locust (the only remaining inn, or “stand” on the Parkway)
      • Port Gibson Historic District
      • Sunken Trace
      • Rocky Springs (abandoned town)
      • Jackson (state capital)
      • West Florida Boundary
      • Cypress Swamp
      • Bynum Mounds (see above)
      • Chickasaw Village Site (former Ackia Battleground National Monument)
      • Pharr Mounds (see above)
      • Tishomingo State Park
Longwood, Natchez
Longwood, Natchez
Natchez National Historical Park
Natchez National Historical Park

1. Natchez (a small town gem)

      • Natchez National Historical Park
      • Grand Village of the Natchez
      • Forks of the Road and the African-American History and Culture Museum
      • Tour the Antebellum Homes of Natchez, including Longwood, Stanton Hall, Rosalie, and many others
      • Under-the-Hill Historic District

State Info

A) State Nicknames+

      • The Magnolia State
      • The Mudcat State (a mudcat is a catfish native to the Mississippi Delta’s “muddy waters,” especially the yellow bullhead)

B) Iconic Foods

      • Catfish and Hush Puppies
      • Gulf Shrimp
      • Gulf Oysters
      • Crawfish
      • Pompano Fish
      • Mississippi Delta Tamales
      • Kibbe
      • Fried Okra
      • Biscuits and Gravy
      • Mississippi Mud Pie