Agritourism Tour
DAY 1
SOUTHAVEN TO HERNANDO 14 miles
HERNANDO TO OLIVE BRANCH 20 miles
OLIVE BRANCH TO MICHIGAN CITY 40 miles
MICHIGAN CITY TO CORINTH 45 miles
Total - 119 miles
Just south of Memphis, in Southaven, enjoy year round farmland fun at Kidz Kountry Petting Farm. Everyone loves the hayrides, pony rides, new playground, fishing and over 150 friendly animals. A little further south to Hernando, and you’ve found Cedar Hill Farm where you can pick blackberries in the Summer, visit the pumpkin patch in Fall and enjoy hayrides, pony rides, petting zoo, playground and picnic area year round. Olive Branch is home to Brussel’s Bonsai Nursery, the largest importer and grower of fine bonsai in the United States. Tour elaborate display gardens and watch the staff practice this painstaking art. On to Michigan City and Burton’s Sugar Farm. This antique heritage village preserves our farming history with working displays including the sorghum mill and resulting sorghum molasses, steam engines, gristmills, blacksmith shop and threshers, a quaint example of Mississippi agriculture at work. There’s also a petting zoo and general store. Continue east to historic Corinth to spend the night.
DAY 2
CORINTH TO TUPELO 52 miles
TUPELO TO PONTOTOC 18 miles
PONTOTOC TO STARKVILLE 71 miles
Total - 141 miles
Get back to nature and the real country life at the Hilltop Peach Farm, a Mississippi agriculture landmark. In season, you can pick peaches, nectarines and apples. Don’t miss the view from a 700-ft. high overlook in the Appalachian foothills. Next stop is Tupelo, birthplace of Elvis Presley and home to one of the largest buffalo herds east of the Mississippi River. Visit the Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo and get on the Monster Bison Bus for a close-up view. Other attractions include exotic animals and a petting zoo. If you’re here in October, be sure to stop in Pontotoc to catch the craze and get lost in the Wise Farms Corn Maze or the Mini Maw Maze Pyramid. A hayride is always great fun, too. Continue to Starkville to spend the night.
DAY 3
STARKVILLE TO GREENWOOD 89 miles
Start your day in Starkville, home of Mississippi State University (MSU). The state’s largest university, MSU is a national leader in Mississippi agriculture research. Visit the MSU Arboretum, where a variety of annuals, perennials, blooming shrubs and trees put on a brilliant show, spring through fall. A tour of the A.B. McKay Food and Enology Laboratory takes wine lovers through the entire process from grapes to glass, concluding with a toast of Mississippi muscadine wine. You can’t leave campus without some of Mississippi State’s famous Edam cheese, processed and packaged in the Herzer Dairy Science Building, wrapped in red wax and bearing the university seal. Later in the day, drive to Greenwood to spend the night in the Mississippi Delta.
DAY 4
GREENWOOD TO YAZOO CITY 52 miles
YAZOO CITY TO JACKSON 49 miles
Total - 101 miles
Begin with a tour of Cottonlandia Museum, which recounts the history of the Mississippi Delta from the Ice Age through contemporary times. Exhibits include Native American pottery and prehistoric fossils. Head south through the rich Delta farmlands for Yazoo City Agricultural Tours to take you to see cotton, catfish or rice farming at its finest; visit a cotton gin and a catfish plant; plus, enjoy some great Southern food along the way. Take the short drive to Jackson, our capital city, to have a great evening.
DAY 5
JACKSON TO MERIDIAN 93 miles
MERIDIAN TO LAUREL 58 miles
LAUREL TO COLLINS 27 miles
COLLINS TO PINEY WOODS 41 miles
PINEY WOODS TO JACKSON 28 miles
Total - 427 miles
Drive east to Meridian and The Bamboo Emu Farm. Arrange a tour and enjoy every minute watching these unusual birds. Emu products including handpainted eggs, emu oil shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and creams are also available. Don’t leave the area without a visit to the Causeyville General Store. Since 1895, this classic, old-style general store has served the community. Be sure to see the mechanical music museum and the gristmill while you’re there. Next stop is Laurel and Landrum’s Country Homestead and Village, a 10-acre living history museum that includes a gristmill, water tower, windmill, working blacksmith shop, chapel—a total of 53 buildings and attractions that are favorites with children and adults. Mitchell Farms is a working farm at Collins that offers fresh fruit, vegetables, watermelons, green and dried peanuts (all in season). This Mississippi agriculture attraction offers plenty of things to do and see, including year round attractions like a restored log house, smokehouse, wood shed, out house, play house, other farm buildings and many 1900s antiques. On your way to Jackson, you’ll want to take time to tour Piney Woods Country Life School, founded in 1909 by Dr. Lawrence Jones as a rural school for African American children. Today, this modern facility with its 2,000-acre pastoral setting provides a well-rounded education for students in grades 7 through 12. Spend the night in Jackson, where you can take advantage of great restaurants and nightlife.
DAY 6
JACKSON TO NATCHEZ 105 miles
Total - 105 miles
Next, you’ll enjoy the fantastic antebellum Mississippi River town of Natchez, home to the only winery in the state. The most popular selection at the Old South Winery is a sweet rosé called Miss Scarlett. All the wines—12 reds, whites, and rosés—are made from native muscadines. Arrange for a tour and tasting.