Small town · 55 min west
Oxford
College town with a famous square, bookstores, great restaurants and Ole Miss.
- Full day · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
Day Trippin' › Mississippi › From Tupelo
Day trips from Tupelo
From Tupelo, the Elvis Presley Birthplace is minutes away, the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center under 10, the Tupelo Buffalo Park about 15, Brices Cross Roads under half an hour, Corinth under an hour, Oxford about an hour, and Tishomingo State Park about an hour. The best day trips from Tupelo, by drive time.
76 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
10 day trips from Tupelo
- Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site 25 min north
- Tanglefoot Trail 30 min west
- Oxford 55 min west
- Tishomingo State Park 1 hr 1 min northeast
- Wall Doxey State Park 1 hr 2 min northwest
- Dismals Canyon 1 hr 5 min east
- Birmingham Civil Rights Institute 1 hr 57 min southeast
- Delta Blues Museum 2 hr 4 min west
- U.S. Space & Rocket Center 2 hr 13 min east
- Cathedral Caverns State Park 2 hr 50 min east
Within an hour from Tupelo 8 spots
Historic site · 25 min north
Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site
One-acre memorial to a June 1864 battle west of Baldwyn.
- Under 1 hr · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
Bike trail · 30 min west
Tanglefoot Trail
A 43.6-mile paved rail trail from Houston to New Albany through farm country and small towns.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
Small town · 51 min north
Corinth
Railroad and Civil War town with a walkable downtown.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
Small town · 56 min northwest
Holly Springs
Historic town with antebellum homes like Montrose and a pretty square.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round; Pilgrimage in spring
- Free
Museum · 52 min north
Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center
NPS museum on the 1862 Siege and Battle of Corinth, part of Shiloh National Military Park.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Daily 9 am-5 pm; closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's
- Free (check)
Museum · 57 min west
University of Mississippi Museum
Ole Miss campus museum that also runs Rowan Oak.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Closed Sun and Mon (check)
- ? (check)
Historic site · 55 min west
Rowan Oak
William Faulkner's home in the woods near the Square, with walking trails around it.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Closed Mondays and most university holidays
- $5 per person, cash only (checked Nov 2026); grounds free
1 to 2 hours from Tupelo 25 spots
State park · 1 hr 1 min northeast
Tishomingo State Park
Rocky hills, a 1938 CCC swinging bridge over Bear Creek and some of the best trails in Mississippi.
- Full day · Moderate
- Year-round; great fall color
- Mississippi State Parks day-use fee (per person)
Hike · 1 hr 5 min east
Dismals Canyon
A deep, mossy sandstone canyon with waterfalls and old hemlocks, famous for glowing Dismalites on night tours.
- 2-3 hrs · Moderate
- Mar-Nov; Nov weekends only; 2027 season opens Mar 12
- Paid admission (check)
Museum · 1 hr 57 min southeast
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
A moving museum on the Birmingham civil rights campaign, across from 16th Street Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Closed some days (check hours)
- Adults $15; students, seniors and military $13; 3rd grade and below free (check)
State park · 1 hr 2 min northwest
Wall Doxey State Park
Lake park near Holly Springs with camping.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- Mississippi State Parks day-use fee (per person)
Small town · 1 hr 11 min south
Starkville
Lively Mississippi State University town with the Cotton District, a farmers market and the Grant library.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
Wildlife · 1 hr 33 min south
Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge
Big refuge near Starkville spread over three counties, with lakes and hiking trails.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- Free
Scenic drive · 1 hr 27 min northeast
Natchez Trace Parkway, Alabama
A 444-mile scenic parkway with no billboards. The Alabama stretch near the Shoals has quiet woods and river crossings.
- 2-3 hrs · Easy
- Year-round; fall color Oct-Nov
- Free
Family fun · 1 hr 58 min southeast
Railroad Park
A 19-acre green space downtown with lawns, ponds, trails and free events. A good spot for a picnic.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Daily 7 am-11 pm
- Free
2 to 3 hours from Tupelo 40 spots
Museum · 2 hr 4 min west
Delta Blues Museum
Blues history in Clarksdale, the town where the blues grew up.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Mon-Sat 10 am-5 pm
- Adult $15, youth 7-16 $10, 6 and under free (checked Nov 2026)
Museum · 2 hr 13 min east
U.S. Space & Rocket Center
NASA's official visitor center for the Marshall Space Flight Center, with a real Saturn V rocket, about 1,100 artifacts and a planetarium.
- Full day · Easy
- Daily 10 am-4 pm (from Nov 1, 2026)
- Paid admission (check)
Cave · 2 hr 50 min east
Cathedral Caverns State Park
A cave with one of the widest entrances in the world and Goliath, a stalagmite about 45 feet tall. It stays about 60 degrees all year.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy to moderate
- Year-round 9 am-5:30 pm
- Tour fee (check)
Museum · 2 hr 52 min southwest
B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center
The life and music of B.B. King, plus Delta history, in his hometown of Indianola.
- 2 hrs · Easy
- Tue-Sat 10 am-5 pm
- Admission charged (check)
Small town · 2 hr 3 min west
Clarksdale
The heart of the Delta blues, with live music most nights, juke joints and blues sites.
- Full day · Easy
- Year-round
- Free to wander
State park · 2 hr 45 min south
Clarkco State Park
Lake park near Quitman.
- Half day · Easy
- Year-round
- Mississippi State Parks day-use fee (per person)
Viewpoint · 2 hr 2 min southeast
Vulcan Park and Museum
The giant iron Vulcan statue on Red Mountain, with an observation tower and a museum on Birmingham's iron past. The best city view around.
- 1-2 hrs · Easy
- Sun-Thu 10 am-8 pm; Fri-Sat 10 am-9 pm
- Paid admission (check)
Zoo · 2 hr 5 min southeast
Birmingham Zoo
A large zoo with a children's zoo, carousel and animals from around the world. Glow Wild lights run in the holiday season.
- Half day · Easy
- Daily 9 am-4 pm
- Paid admission (check)
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Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 38804 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.