To start off our whirlwind of short stops through the southern U.S., we rolled into Mississippi with a goal in mind: check off another state highpoint. We set up camp for 9 nights at Tishomingo State Park, tucked away in the northeastern corner of the state. It ended up being the perfect basecamp, not just for our highpointing mission, but for some unexpected gems along the way.
During our stay, we spent a lot of time exploring the scenic Natchez Trace Parkway, a peaceful drive rich with history and natural beauty. We also made a meaningful stop in Tupelo to visit Elvis Presley’s birthplace!
This post is a day-by-day look at our time in Mississippi, what we explored, where we stayed, and what we learned along the way. Whether you’re planning your own RV trip through the South or just curious about what Mississippi has to offer, we hope this recap gives you a taste of what made this stop special for us.
Day 1: Sunday Arrival
Sunday we drove from Giant City State Park in southern Illinois to Tishomingo State Park, where we were staying in Mississippi. We got set up at camp and just hung out there after driving all day.
Day 2: Monday Errands
As usual, our first activity of the trip was getting groceries. We headed to the town of Iuka, about 25 minutes from our campground, to find a full grocery store. We ended up trying out Brooks Grocery which is a local chain, but larger than the other locally owned grocery stores. It was a really nice store, and I thought it was more fun to visit a local chain than just another Walmart (which was 45 minutes away). The best part was that we found peach Nehi and were able to stock up!
Day 3: Tuesday High Pointing and CCC Exploring
Tuesday after work we checked off our main bucket list item early- visiting Woodall Mountain. The reason we were in this part of the state is because we wanted to visit the high point. This is a relatively short high point and an easy one to get to. We just drove up a (somewhat steep) gravel road to the top of the mountain. There’s a marker and a decent view through the trees.
It was still early after this adventure, so when we got back to Tishomingo we drove around and explored some of the park. The park was built by the CCC in 1930s, and we love visiting CCC sites. We even have a small collection of CCC artifacts back home. We checked out some of the buildings, the famous swinging bridge, and the waterfall that were all built by the CCC. We also checked out historic wellhouse near the CCC waterfall.
Day 4: Wednesday on the Parkway
Wednesday we made our first foray onto the Natchez Trace Parkway. We had explored some of the Blue Ridge Parkway during our Roanoke trip and enjoyed it, so were excited to try out another. On this day we visited Cave Spring, Bear Creek Mound, Freedom Hills Overlook, and Buzzards Roost Spring. These are already on the blog in my post: Driving the Natchez Trace Parkway: A Complete Guide to Mile Markers 261–320
I (Jen) LOVE this kind of adventuring. There’s a mix of history and nature and I love doing a bunch of different quick stops. I thoroughly enjoyed all the time we spent on the Parkway.
Day 5: Thursday on the Parkway Again
After work Thursday we headed back to the Natchez Trace Parkway, this way heading the other direction. We visited the John Whitten Lock and Dam, Tenn-Tomm Waterway, Donivan Slough, Twentymile Bottom, Pharr Mounds, and Dogwood Valley. Again, these are all in the Natchez Trace Parkway post.
Day 6: Friday at Camp
Friday we stayed home and Josh cooked ribs. We also decided to have some fun in the park and tried out one of three disc golf courses. We did Warrior’s Ridge, which started off really cool but ended pretty basic. In the first half of the course there were some really unique and interesting setups with the rocks and terrain. There were baskets hidden inside rock outcroppings and for one we basically had to chuck our discs off a cliff and hope for the best. The back half, though, was a pretty basic woods course. It was still fun and just a nice way to explore the woods, but the holes themselves were nothing special.
Day 7: Saturday in Tupelo
Saturday was our big adventure day of the trip. We spent most of the day exploring the town of Tupelo, about 45 minutes away from Tishomingo. We started off at Elvi’s birthplace. The museum campus here has a small museum, the house where Elvis was born, and the church Elvis attended as a kid where he fell in love with music. On the grounds there’s a few different statues, markers, and signs too. This will end up getting its own post eventually.
Next, we did a quick stop at Tupelo Hardware. This is the hardware store where Elvis’s mom bought him his first guitar and is still an active hardware store. After this, it was time for lunch. We ended up choosing Neon Pig, which is a small restaurant and butchershop. The reviews were really good, and while the food was definitely good it wasn’t as amazing as the photos and reviews made it seemed. If I didn’t have such high expectations, I probably would have liked it more, but I was a little disappointed.
After lunch, we visited Tupelo National Battlefield. This is a super small NPS site that’s basically a corner lot with some monuments. Then after this we headed back to the Parkway to work our way home. We stopped at the Chickasaw Village Site, the Parkway Headquarters, and Old Trace/Confederate Graves. (Again, it’s all in this post).
Day 8: Tishomingo Sunday
Sunday we had a chill campground day. We played another disc golf course, this time Chickasaw. The third course was actually mostly unplayable because it goes across the levee of the lake which was closed off. I liked Warrior Ridge better, but Josh liked Chickasaw better.
We had read in the trail descriptions that one of the trails went by some foundations and remains of the old CCC camp, so we decided to go looking for that. We found the first foundation next to the trail, and then had fun exploring off trail looking for more. We found more foundations, pieces of concrete and metals, and some kinds of pits that had been part of the camp.
Day 9: Monday Chores
Monday we just did chores and work to get ready for moving on Tuesday.
