Into the Woods
The Pines region of Central Mississippi is home to the Choctaw Nation, cool casinos, a college town, and a theatrical legend.
With its diverse terrain and accessible blend of down-home fun, Central Mississippi’s Pines Region is beloved for its outdoor recreation, which includes all sorts of nature centers and adventure parks. That’s in addition to the network of markers that guide visitors along several of the state’s most fascinating cultural trails. The Pines can claim not one, but two twentieth-century cultural icons as native sons: playwright Tennessee Williams, who was born in Columbus, and Meridian’s Jimmie Rodgers, widely regarded as America’s “Father of Country Music.”
In this region, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians built the world-class Pearl River Resort in Choctaw, right outside of Philadelphia. This complex offers two large casino/hotel properties—the Silver Star and the Golden Moon—welcoming visitors with a spa, upscale dining, a fun-filled water theme park, and two of the nation’s highest-rated golf courses at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club. Learn about the creative culture and customs of the Choctaw Tribe at the Chahta Immi Cultural Center.
Starkville, the home of Mississippi State University, brings together the vibrant energy of a college town and the picturesque downtown and colorful Cotton District neighborhoods. On campus, visitors can look into the life of the eighteenth president of the United States at the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library, and dive into the high-stakes world of legal thrillers in the John Grisham Room. Extend your walk and outdoor adventure with a hike or bike ride at the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.
Within the city of Winona stands the largest observatory in Mississippi, the Rainwater Observatory and Planetarium. Gaze into the awe-inspiring mysteries of outer space, or take a walk on the wild side and come soar, zip, climb, crawl, and swing through the treetops at one of the state’s most exhilarating adventure parks, Old Mountain Outdoor Adventures.
Architectural masterpieces meet the great outdoors in Aberdeen, right on the banks of the 234-mile long Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Also known as the Tenn-Tom, on its banks you’ll find Blue Bluff Recreation Area, a popular spot for hiking, fishing, camping, swimming, or just soaking in the combination of lush greenery and eighty-foot bluffs. The hub of Aberdeen’s entertainment emanates from the circa 1937 Elkin Theatre, which continues its cinematic legacy by showing films each week as well as occasional live performances. Discover another Aberdeen legacy—blues music—by following the trail markers along the Mississippi Blues Trail that winds through town. If you do, be sure not to miss the Blues Mural featuring legendary slide guitarist and singer Bukka White. Each fall the Bukka White Blues Festival brings live performances from local blues musicians to the banks of the river, to be enjoyed by the thousands of blues fans who come to town.
In Meridian, it’s all about kids at the new state-of-the-art Mississippi Children’s Museum. Here you’ll find the WonderBox—Mississippi’s first filmmaker space for kids—and the only life-size recreation of interactive scenes from the classic children’s books Goodnight Moon and The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Take a spin on the Dentzel Carousel, which has stood in the same location within Highland Park since 1909, and is the inspiration for the public art exhibit Around Town Carousels Abound. Tune into Meridian’s musical legacy by visiting markers on the Mississippi Country Music Trail and celebrate the stardom of successful Mississippians at the Hall of Fame in the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience. The Hall of Fame showcases Magnolia State greats including William Faulkner, Elvis Presley, and includes special exhibits about Meridian natives Jimmie Rodgers and Sela Ward. Outdoor destinations should definitely include Bonita Lakes Park—home to three lakes, and nature trails suited to horseback riding, hiking, and biking, and Okatibbee Lake, which is the perfect spot for camping and swimming.
Aptly coined “The City That Has It All,” Columbus is infused with decades of Mississippi cultural history. Eudora Welty’s alma mater, Mississippi University For Women, stands as the nation’s first public college for women. The works of Welty and Williams, whose Victorian birthplace also serves as the local Welcome Center, earned Columbus a place on the Southern Literary Trail, but this is only the first of several paths worth following. Find Catfish Alley, once a hub for African-American business and social life, and the former site of the Queen City Hotel, which served as the center of African-American life throughout the early twentieth century and hosted blues, jazz, and R&B musicians including Duke Ellington and James Brown. Located along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, the Columbus Riverwalk and Trail expands over four miles of picturesque landscape that offers walking, biking, and picnicking. Take a token of your Columbus trek from the Rosenzweig Arts Center, the home of the Columbus Arts Council in the heart of the city’s downtown, and where you can find art exhibitions and local handcrafted works.