Top 10 Places

10. Dunn’s Falls, Meridian

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

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

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

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6. Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area

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

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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

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

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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)

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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

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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

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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