Mississippi Outdoor Adventure Map +
10-Day Road Trip Itinerary

Drive to Janice Landing off Highway 29 and self-issue your free wilderness permit at the kiosk. Launch onto the Black Creek, Mississippi's only National Wild & Scenic River, and paddle downstream through the Black Creek Wilderness past cypress, vertical bluffs, and white sand bars.

The full Janice-to-Fairley-Bridge run is about 12 miles; today, paddle roughly half and pick a white sandbar above the waterline for a primitive camp. Practice strict Leave No Trace: pack out all trash, bury waste well away from the water, and keep fires small in a pan.

• Black Creek Canoe Trail (Janice → Fairley Bridge)

  ~12 mi total · calm, scenic water · beginner-friendly with experience
• Self-issue Black Creek Wilderness permit

  Free · at the landing kiosk · Black Creek National Wild & Scenic River
• Primitive camp on a river sandbar

  Above the waterline · Leave No Trace · no facilities

Take the morning Ship Island Excursions ferry from Gulfport out to West Ship Island, part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, watching for dolphins across the Mississippi Sound on the roughly hour-long crossing.

On arrival, tour Fort Massachusetts, a Civil War-era brick fort, then hike to your designated primitive campsite. Sites are remote with no facilities, so you carry in all water and supplies and pack everything out. Expect full sun, wind, sand, and insects.

• Ship Island Excursions ferry

  ~1 hr each way · book ahead in peak season
• Tour Fort Massachusetts

  Free · Civil War brick fort · rare island shade
• Primitive camping on West Ship Island

  Free permit + reservation via Gulf Islands National Seashore

Drive about 3.5 hours west to Natchez, one of the oldest European settlements on the Mississippi River and the southern terminus of the Natchez Trace Parkway. Spend the afternoon on the Trace, an ancient travel corridor turned scenic byway managed by the National Park Service.

Visit Emerald Mound, one of the largest Native American ceremonial mounds in the country, and walk a stretch of the atmospheric Sunken Trace, where centuries of foot and hoof traffic wore the path deep into the earth. Then check into a historic Natchez B&B and prep your backpack for tomorrow.

• Drive Gulfport → Natchez

  ~180 mi · 3.5 hr · inland through rural Mississippi
• Emerald Mound

  Second-largest ceremonial mound in the US · free
• Walk the Sunken Trace

  Short, flat, atmospheric · the historic Old Trace

Finish the backpack with an easy morning walk back to your vehicle at Rocky Springs, then start the trip's longest driving leg, roughly 5 hours northeast to Tishomingo State Park in the Appalachian foothills of the state's far corner.

This is the geographic surprise of Mississippi: rocky sandstone bluffs, clear streams, and a canyon landscape that looks nothing like the coastal plain. Check into a cabin or campsite at Tishomingo and rest up for the via ferrata.

• Hike out to Rocky Springs

  ~4–6 mi · 2–3 hr · flat to gently rolling
• Drive Rocky Springs → Tishomingo

  ~270 mi · ~5 hr · longest driving day
• Check into Tishomingo State Park

  Cabins & campsites · book ahead for weekends

Take a short final hike, the Swinging Bridge Trail or the in-park section of the Natchez Trace Trail, then break camp. Depending on your flight, drive to the airport that fits best.

Memphis International (MEM) is the closest major hub (~1.5 hr) with the most direct flights, while Jackson (JAN) (~3 hr) keeps you in Mississippi if that matches your return. Allow time for rental-car return and check-in.

• Morning Swinging Bridge Trail

  1–2 hr · easy · optional last hike
• Drive to MEM or JAN

  Memphis ~90 mi / 1.5 hr · Jackson ~180 mi / 3 hr
• Return rental & fly home

  Allow time for car return and check-in