Driving in the South Part 1: A Tour From Atlanta to the Great Smoky Mountains, Nashville and Memphis which can be found here.

Memphis to New Orleans via Vicksburg : From Tennessee to Mississippi to Louisiana

Driving directly from Memphis to New Orleans is a 650 km ride on the I-55. It takes about 6 hours. The route is far east off the Mississippi River, the only town you cross is Mississippi’s capital Jackson. A long ride for a single day but possible, anyways it makes an entire day of your holiday only sitting in the car and driving, nothing else.
A bit further west, you can drive in close distance to the Mississippi River and see the Mississippi Delta occasionally.

Vicksburg is an option to stop (see Article on Vicksburg). The first part of the route from Memphis to Vicksburg has several options to stop, all of them smaller towns: Greenwood (Mississippi Delta) and Indianola (B.B. King Museum) can both be reached on highway 49 and 278 (Northern and Southern Route) and highway 82. Greenwood is one hour from Memphis (75 km), Indianola is on the way to Greenwood (about 1/3 of the distance). Driving from north to south on the highway route takes 45 minutes more than the interstate route (anyways it’s even a few km less). Taking the detour to Indianola and Greenwood will cost you two more hours. You cannot avoid taking the same route back and forth and need to calculate an extra 2 hours for this.

For this part of the route, we decided to take the interstate to have more time in Vicksburg. Also considering the next day, we did not feel like driving an extra 2 hours.
The following day, the route leads from Vicksburg to New Orleans. A direct route is available on interstate 55 (330 km, 3 ¼ hours). Anyways, this second part of the route offers so many options; you would miss a lot on the interstate.

South of Vicksburg, a town called Natchez is worth a stop (1 ½ hours, 120 km). Natchez is a former trade hub and enclave for millionaires with many beautiful, well-preserved antebellum mansions. (more information about Natchez here).

Once you have decided to go Natchez, it’s best to stay on the highway for another 120 km. The interstate is far east of Natchez, driving to the interstate would mean driving unnecessarily east although you are indeed heading south.

Once you’ve reached Natchez, you can go back to the interstate. You go east to I-55 and stay on it until you reach New Orleans. Choosing this option means, it takes 4 ½ hours (400 km) to drive from Vicksburg to New Orleans. If you decide to stay on the scenic route, take highway 61 after Natchez till Louisiana’s capital Baton Rouge. This is a good place to stop for a coffee or food.

Baton Rouge is one hour from New Orleans (I-10). On this route, the next stop is Vacherie with its big plantations (see Plantations in the South). Vacherie is easy to reach (exit 187, highway 6, just follow the signs that say Oak Alley Plantation, ca. 15 minutes). I would highly recommend this stop. It’s close to the main route and you should have seen at least one of the big Vacherie plantations.

This is how we did it. We managed to fit everything in a day; it is doable but a tight schedule. We had enough time for the final stop, the Oak Alley Plantation and also for the first stop Natchez. Anyways, you need to leave early on this day. Driving along highway 61 takes a while. Even though it is very little traffic, it’s slow-moving. Anyways, I would do it exactly like this again. I would not want to miss Natchez or Vacherie.

There is another option for this route:
In Natchez, you can go further west (west of the Mississippi river) (highway 15, 105 and interstate 49). This is a way to reach Lafayette and Avery Island 50 km south of Lafayette. Avery Island is the home of Tabasco (the spicy sauce). Moreover, there are tropical gardens in Lafayette. It is the cultural capital of the Acadian Scene (Cajun and Creole). To see this, you need to take another detour. Anyways, this detour will make your route too long for a single day. It makes an 8-hour-route of 700 km (from Vicksburg to New Orleans with stops in Natchez, Lafayette, Avery Island, Baton Rouge and Vacherie). A mere driving time of 8 hours means, we would not have had enough time to see the attractions on the route properly. One option is to shorten the route (leave out Natchez or Lafayette) or stay a night somewhere on the route (maybe Lafayette).

We chose to leave out Lafayette, because it would have taken the longest detour. Vacherie can be reached easily and we did not want to leave out Natchez.

East of Lafayette (close to West Texas), there are a few nature protection areas. If you have the time and decide to stay another night, you can think about visiting these as well.

From New Orleans to Pensacola: Going from Louisiana to Mississippi, Alabama and Florida

After a couple of days in New Orleans, we are now heading to Florida. This article only deals with the route to the Florida border. Just to get a rough impression of what we are talking about: the entire route is as long as 800 kilometers, starting in New Orleans, driving east along the coast till Jacksonville.

I only describe the first 300 kilometers of this route. The rest can be found in the Article on North Florida.

On interstate 10, it takes 3 hours (320 km) to go from New Orleans to Pensacola. The interstate stays close (almost parallel) to the coast all the time (5 to 10 km inbound). Because the interstate is so close to the coast, you can always alternate between interstate and highway 90, which is the coast highway. Pass Christian and Gulfport are spots to enter and exit the interstate. It is also possible to stay on the coast highway (highway 90) the entire time. For this, you need to plan an extra hour (compared to the interstate route). The latest point to go back to the interstate is Mobile in Alabama; you need to go north to Mobile anyways. There is only one bridge leading over the bay. Because you already are on the interstate, you can stay there.

On this route, there are several environmental protected areas: Gulf Island National Seashore and Mississippi Gulf Park in Alabama and Perdido Key in Florida (information about Perdido Key here). Try to stop in at least one of these parks. The ones that can be reached easily are Gulf Island and Perdido Key. You can also think about spending the night in Perdido Key instead of going to Pensacola for that. The former fishing village Mobile is also an option to spend the night.

We drove along the coast highway from Pass Christian until Biloxi, in Biloxi we took the interstate till Pensacola and did Perdido Key the following morning. On this route, there are many beaches, restaurants and coffee shops for lunch, a coffee or dinner are everywhere. Also, you pass by many veterans’ homes. It was a beautiful, cozy day along the coast.

More Information on this tour can be found in part 1 and part 3:

Driving in the South Part 1: A Tour From Atlanta to the Great Smoky Mountains, Nashville and Memphis

Driving in the South Part 3: From Florida’s Capital Tallahassee on the Georgia Coast to the Carolinas and Charleston

A Tour in the Panhandle/Northern Florida can be found here.

Der Beitrag Driving in the South Part 2: A Tour From Memphis to Vicksburg, New Orleans and Pensacola erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Natchez – Where It Is and How to Reach

Natchez is located between Vicksburg and New Orleans. Natchez is 120 km from Vicksburg on highway 61. Driving along that highway made me, once more, aware of the fact of how huge this country is and how vast the areas are. Highway 61 is not 100% straight but it definitely feels like driving 120 km just straight and totally remote, simply in the middle of nowhere. There is basically nothing on this route, not even traffic. Every now and then you meet another vehicle or drive through a little village.

After Natchez the route leads to Baton Rouge or New Orleans. To Baton Rouge it’s another 150 straight on highway 61. It takes 1 ¾ hours. How it feel to drive there, does not generally change. You are still on a rather empty road and just drive straight. Every now and then you see a little village or a gas station. The highway is sometimes closer and sometimes a little more distant to the Mississippi River. Occasionally, you are in the Mississippi Delta and see all the fields and huge lands, the largeness and extensiveness of Mississippi and Louisiana.

In Baton Rouge, it is possible to drive faster again. You can take interstate 10 and go directly to New Orleans.

Antebellum Era

Many antebellum buildings in Natchez are in downtown. You can park parallel to the river at Broadway Street. From there, you can easily walk or take a bicycle. Natchez has little golden markers on the ground, these markers show the best ways. There are five trails that lead through town. Two of them start at Broadway Street and go through Natchez downtown. On these two routes you will definitely see more antebellum mansions than anywhere else.

There is also car tour through the city. All these routes can be found on the website of the Natchez Visitor Center or you just follow the golden marks on the ground.
Twelve buildings in Natchez are open to public. The most famous one are: Longwood, Rosalie Mansion and Stanton Hall. Natchez advertisement says they have more than 600 antebellum houses in town. I did not count but after a walk in the magnificent Natchez downtown, I have to say: they definitely have many, many beautiful buildings.

We could not visit any of these building because we were there on a Sunday morning and everything was closed. If you want to see a building from the inside, check its opening hours before. Not all buildings are open daily.

In the suburbs of Natchez, there is Melrose Plantation. A report about that plantation can be found here.

Is Natchez Worth a Visit?

To see Natchez, you need to take a long detour. The fastest route from Vicksburg to New Orleans is on interstate 55 (330 km, 3 ¼ hours). But you will only see an interstate and nothing else.

On the highway route mentioned above, you can see Natchez and Baton Rouge. It takes one more hour to do that (400 km, 4 ½ hours). But you can stop several times on the route, also in Natchez. Once you decide to do Natchez, it does not make sense to go back to interstate 55 because 55 is further east than highway 61 and Natchez. You need to decide in advance if you want to reach New Orleans as fast as possible or take a more scenic route that offers more attractions but takes longer.

Once you choose the highway route, I definitely recommend spending some time in Natchez. It’s a very nice town, many old houses, beautiful architecture, everything in walking distance and very few people everywhere. I would always take the scenic route and stop in Natchez, even though you need to drive longer.

Information about how to combine that route can be found here.

Information about Plantations in Vacherie and the Melrose Plantation can be found here.

Information about New Orleans can be found here.

Information about Vicksburg can be found here.

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Vicksburg: Where to Find It and How to Reach It

Vicksburg is located right between Memphis and New Orleans. It’s a 640 km drive from Memphis to New Orleans (via Interstate 55), according to google maps, this drive takes 5 ½ hours. Doable in a day, if you don’t stop anywhere and don’t visit anything. As soon as you leave the interstate and take the more scenic highway route, the required time double or triples.

Vicksburg and Memphis are connected by the Interstate 55 (exit in Jackson). Like this, it’s a 410 km (3 ½ hours) drive. Driving on highway 278 and 61 (via Indianola) is more beautiful, even a bit shorter (370 km) but takes 45 minutes longer.

Where the South lost the Civil War: Vicksburg National Military Park

The National Military Park is at the Northern end of Vicksburg. Several cheap hotels can be found close to the park entrance (opposite side of the street). We stayed in the Quality Inn Hotel.

There is no bus shuttle (like in the big national parks); you need to drive in your own car. It’s not recommendable to walk because the distances are quite long. Going on a bicycle would be possible. The park is not flat but rather uneven with loads of hills and elevations. It’s not a flat steamrolled city park, but has mostly been left in its natural, uneven state.

There are several numbered stops on the route. An brochure provides information about what happened at every single stop and why it happened. The brochure is available in the tourist center at the entrance. There is also an audio guide on CD, an app or a telephone number you can call at every stop. I did the old-school thing and read the brochure. To me, that was sufficient. Altogether, there are 15 stops. Reading all information about these 15 stop keeps you busy for a while.

Eye-Catchers on the tour: Illinois State Memorial, USS Cairo 5, Vicksburg National Cemetery

Illinois State Memorial

The Illinois State Memorial is a large marvel building on an overlooking spot right at the beginning of the tour. Of all the state memorials, it’s the most striking, even a bit flamboyant: statues, buildings, obelisks and art serve as a reminder of all the states that were involved in the Civil War (14 from the South, 18 from the North).

USS Cairo 5

The USS Cairo 5 sunk in the Yazoo River. It was rebuilt in Vicksburg; some original parts that were still found could be used. You can visit the war ship and walk around in it. Right next to the ship, there is a museum about the history of the ship.

Vicksburg National Cemetary – Cemetary of the Civil War

The cemetery is right next to the Cairo 5 and reminds of about 17,000 soldiers who died in the war. The cemetery looks different from cemeteries in Germany; it’s a green meadow with many gravestones on it.

Vicksburg was important to both sides from a strategic point of view. Between December 1862 and July 1863 several battles and maneuvers took place, both in the water and on land. These info boards have information about many familiar names: Grant, Pemberton, Sherman etc. Soldiers from both sides are presented as statues; boards explain what happened when and where.

Nature

Off its main street, the park is known for its vast number of protected species and its intact nature. We met several Boy Scout groups, who were walking somewhere between main road and hiking path on their way back home. For Vicksburg residents, the park seems to be a focal point to hike and take a field trip. Due to its uneven structure, the park is perfect for this.

Resume

Even though I wasn’t expecting much, I can only recommend the park to everyone. I thought I already knew a lot about the Civil War but I was mistaking. I learned a lot here and did get quite some new information about the civil war. Driving along the main route including its 15 stops was really interesting and took about 2 hours.

The park is beautiful because of its historical significance, its nature and its beautiful viewpoints over the river. If possible, you should go here. 15 Dollars per car is a definitely a reasonable price.

More Stops in Vicksburg

After visiting the park, we had an evening to kill in Vicksburg. There are several more museums in Vicksburg but we did not do any of them. We went to a smaller shopping mall and spent the evening there. We were almost the only clients there. Due to its size, the shopping mall cannot be compared to the larger shopping malls. The good thing about it was, it was almost empty and prices were low. The shopping mall is close to Clay Street (on Clay Street there are several larger hotels like Holiday Inn, Quality Inn, Comfort Suites, Courtyards, etc.). From Clay Street, the National Military Park is only 5 minutes away.

We accidentally stumbled over an Asian buffet right next to the Holiday Inn Hotel: until today, the best buffet ever! The food was outstanding and it wasn’t expensive at all. I don’t recall exactly how much, but it was something about 10 Dollars. I would highly recommend this buffet place.

If you fell like it, you can visit some more historical buildings in Vicksburg or the casino. We didn’t do both of it but left early the next morning.
I recommend spending an afternoon in Vicksburg. In the morning, you can leave in Memphis and reach in Vicksburg sometime between midday and afternoon. You only need to consider that for visiting the park, you need daylight.

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