10 Days In Central Mississippi: Here’s What We Got Up To

After spending the first week of 2020 in New Albany, MS, Shae and I made our way south to the Jackson/Ridgeland area of central Mississippi. We booked a 10 night stay there to maximize our points while staying at the Residence Inn Jackson Ridgeland (read our review here).

We were pretty unfortunate with the weather during our time there as it rained most days, getting so bad at times that we were getting flash flood warnings on our phones.

That ended up limiting what we did while there, but we still got to explore the area a little. Here’s what we got up to during our 10 days in central Mississippi.

1) Mississippi Petrified Forest

Every time we move on to a new city, I check Groupon to see if they have any deals on fun things to do or quirky/tasty places to eat. Fairly close to our hotel was a place called Mississippi Petrified Forest, with Groupon offering two tickets for only $7. We figured that even if it wasn’t interesting, it would’ve only cost $3.50 per person and so wouldn’t be a huge loss.

Well, it wasn’t a loss at all as it was surprisingly fascinating. Mississippi Petrified Forest has loads of (no longer standing) trees that are millions of years old. At the start of the trail there was a display of a sequoia log from California to give an idea of what the trees would’ve looked like back in the day.

Due to the fact that they were millions of years old and petrified, the trees you’re there to see look a little different. If you were to just wander along the trail, it’d probably be fairly boring. However, when you arrive and pay the entrance fee (or redeem your Groupon), you’re given a leaflet which provides loads of information about what you’re looking at.

Each set of petrified logs is numbered, with the leaflet giving you specific information about those logs. Most of the logs are kept behind a barrier to help preserve them, with some being given names like the one below called the Frog.

Another reason we’d been interested in visiting the forest is because they’re pet-friendly, so Truffles was able to join us. She didn’t quite comprehend what she was looking at, but she liked not being stuck at the hotel and getting to sniff around at everything. She also got to sit on of the petrified trees called Caveman’s Bench. Don’t worry – there’s a sign stating that it’s OK to sit on it (the only one of the petrified trees in the forest you’re allowed to touch).

After exploring the trail running through the forest, we took a look at all the exhibits in the visitor center. There were examples of petrified trees from all around the world, as well as other items of archaeological interest such as these dinosaur tracks and fossil dinosaur skin that was found in Blanding, Utah.

2) Pocahontas Mounds

On our way back from Mississippi Petrified Forest, we stopped at a historical site by the side of the road called Pocahontas Mounds.

While it might not look like much, it’s a site of historical significance. There’s a building next to the mound that has exhibits providing history of the mounds, with Mound A thought to date back at least 1,000 years.

3) Vicksburg National Military Park

Vicksburg National Military Park is about 45 minutes to the west of Jackson and is on the border of Louisiana. It played a central role in the Civil War due to its location in the south on the Mississippi River.

Before touring the park, it’s worth spending some time in the visitor center where there are some exhibits providing more details about the site’s history. It’s also worth watching the ~10 minute video presentation as that provides additional context which is especially helpful if you don’t know much – or anything – about the history of Vicksburg.

Something important to note – Vicksburg National Military Park is enormous. There’s a 16 mile road that runs through the park and more than 1,000 historic monuments, memorials and markers. It’s therefore impossible to stop and see everything.

The park is very dog-friendly, with the visitor center at the entrance and the USS Cairo and its adjacent museum being the only places dogs aren’t allowed. The USS Cairo was one of the first ironclad warships that was built at the start of the Civil War and you’re able to walk on some sections of it. It’s therefore best to visit with someone else if you bring your dog so that you can take it in turns to tour the ship and museum as they’re both worth exploring.

4) Rodney Ghost Town

While researching things to do in central Mississippi, Shae discovered a post about things to do between Natchez and Vicksburg. One of the places listed was Rodney, a ghost town that’s near Alcorn State University.

Well, I say it’s a ghost town, but there were still a number of occupied homes there. There were a ton of abandoned properties though; they’re something Shae loves photographing, so we spent a little while wandering around to check them out.

In addition to the abandoned homes, there are a couple of abandoned churches that are still in pretty good structural condition.

It seemed like you’re not allowed inside the churches anymore, so we just opened the doors to peek inside as they both remain unlocked.

5) The Old Country Store Restaurant

Another location mentioned on that blog post was The Old Country Store Restaurant in Lorman. It supposedly had the best fried chicken, so we knew we had to check it out.

The restaurant has an all-you-can-eat buffet and has all the southern comfort foods your heart – and stomach – could ever desire. While I didn’t think their fried chicken was the best ever (although it was very good), some of their sides were the best sides I’ve ever had. Their green beans (which I think were cooked with ham hocks) were simply incredible, while their yams, coleslaw, ribs, potato salad and more were simply fantastic. It was quite possibly the best buffet meal I’ve ever had – and I’ve had a few of those.

Our meal was made even better by the fact that we were serenaded by the owner, Arthur Davis. He had a lovely voice and all his staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. We’ve had loads of great meals on our 50 state road trip so far, but this was one of my most memorable meals so far and it’s somewhere I’d love to return to in the future. We even got to grab a selfie with Mr Davis just before we left 🙂

6) Mississippi State Capitol Building

Jackson is Mississippi’s state capital, so we visited downtown one day to check it out. To be honest, there wasn’t much to see in downtown Jackson, but we did stop off at the state capitol building quickly.

We had Truffles with us that day, so we didn’t do a tour of the entire building. Shae and I took it in turns to have a quick look around though, especially because we wanted to check out the building’s dome.

7) Old State Capitol

Similar to Illinois and some other states, Mississippi’s current state capitol building wasn’t its first state house. Just down the road is the Old Capitol Building which was used as the state house from 1839 to 1903 and is now the Old Capitol Museum.

8) Natchez Trace Parkway

I’d heard of the Natchez Trace Parkway before, but until we arrived in the Jackson area I didn’t know much about its history. It’s a road that runs the 444 miles from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN and follows some of the original Natchez Trace.

The Natchez Trace was a trail that’s thought to have been created by the route that bison and other animals took while traversing that section of the country to find land to graze on. The trail was used in later years by Native Americans and subsequently by explorers in the 1700s and 1800s, with them setting up trading posts and inns along the route for all the passing travelers.

We found ourselves driving on the Natchez Trace Parkway a few times during our stay and there were quite a few historical markers and pull-offs with more information about what was at each particular site.

9) Windsor Ruins

The Windsor Ruins are apparently the most photographed attraction in Mississippi. The ruins consist of 23 columns that once supported a large mansion which stood for fewer than 30 years.

The mansion survived the Civil War, with Confederate forces initially occupying it and Union forces subsequently taking control and using it as a hospital. It went back to being used as a home after the war ended, but burned down in 1890.

10) Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

On our final day in the Jackson/Ridgeland area, we were able to get a 4pm late checkout from our hotel. That gave us time to head into downtown Jackson once again to visit the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

We got lucky with the weekend we picked to do that as the third Saturday of every month they offer free admission. Admission is normally only $10 for adults and $6 for those aged 4-18 and it’s definitely worth that if you’re visiting at any other time.

We’ve visited a number of civil rights museums on our road trip so far including the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN, the Rosa Parks Library & Museum in Montgomery, AL and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, OH. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum gave a unique perspective on civil rights history though as it covered a lot of Mississippi-specific history which we hadn’t learned about at other museums we’d visited.

The museum has a phenomenal amount of information and exhibits to take in, so it’s somewhere that you could visit several times and you’d still learn something new each time.

11) Dog Parks

Seeing as we were stuck inside our hotel due to the weather for quite a bit of our stay, we took advantage of the nearby dog park in Ridgeland whenever we could to help combat Truffles’s cabin fever.

We managed to exhaust her with so much running around one day that she ended up looking like she was stoned!

12) Ross Barnett Reservoir

The dog park was right next to Ross Barnett Reservoir, a 33,000 acre reservoir. It was a beautiful area with a boat launch, wallking/jogging trails, playgrounds, picnic areas and much more.

Question

Seeing as rain prevented us from seeing as much of central Mississippi as we’d have liked, do you have any recommendations of other things to do in the area in case we return in the future? Let us know in the comments below.