Deep South road trip: Surprises around every corner

The Deep South – the very best US Fly-Drive destination – is full of compelling surprises.

Visit vibrant cities and the small towns, experience the history, and listen to the diverse music from Blues and Country to Zydeco.

When planning a Deep South road trip it’s always fun to include something offbeat that makes people say ‘I didn’t know you could do that in the Deep South.’

Here are some Deep South surprises to encounter on the road:

Explore one of the oldest cities in Louisiana – The Natchitoches Parish where you will find history around every corner. One of the first things you’ll notice in downtown Natchitoches is the historic architecture, then browse stores before diving into a meat pie at Lasyone – synonymous with central Louisiana cuisine.

Natchitoches National Historic Landmark District

An area that will grab your attention is the Natchitoches National Historic Landmark District, comprised of 33 blocks of historical buildings dating back to the late 1700s. When walking or biking this area you’ll see a wide range of architectural styles  from Queen Anne-style mansions to Art Deco commercial buildings and French Creole homes.

Los Adaes State Historic Site & Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site

Los Adaes is a fascinating hidden gem of Louisiana, Interesting fact – it also happens to be the former capital of Texas. Today known as Los Adaes State Historic Site, this was once a fort that protected Spanish settlers from French and Native American invaders, and was also the seat of Texas government for 44 years. You’ll see historic structures and artifacts from life on the frontier.

After exploring Los Adaes, head to Fort St. Jean Baptiste State Historic Site next to Cane River Lake. This replica fort is built a few hundred yards from the original fort site and is based upon original blueprints and extensive archival research. Building materials were obtained locally, and many 18th-century building techniques were used for authenticity. The original fort was established around 1716, when Sieur Charles Claude Dutisné was sent to Natchitoches with a small company of colonial troops to build an outpost. this strategic outpost was named Fort St. Jean Baptiste des Natchitoches – the rest is history.

Oakland and Magnolia Plantations

Oakland and Magnolia plantations are part of Cane River Creole National Historical Park, a 63-acre preservation area that showcases the lives of Creole people from over 150 years ago. Oakland Plantation, known as the most complete Creole plantation in the South, is literally a time capsule containing fragments of country life from the 18th and 19th centuries. You’ll find 17 outbuildings at Oakland, where everything from food preparation to carpentry was done. However, Magnolia Plantation tells another side of plantation life and the heavy toll taken on the area during the Civil War. You can take a tour of one or both of these National Park Service-run sites.

Alabama is a state with quite a few hidden gems. It’s home to the US Space & Rocket Centre, where you can also take part in Space Camp.  It has the world’s largest motorcycle museum at the Barber Motorsports Museum, the Unclaimed Baggage Centre and where the first Mardi Gras took place.

The Rocket City: Huntsville (World’s Largest Space Museum)

Huntsville, Alabama, known as “The Rocket City,” is home to the U.S. Space & Rocket Centre, which is the world’s largest space museum. It houses an extensive collection of space artifacts, including the Saturn V rocket, spacecraft, and lunar modules. It’s a must-visit for space enthusiasts and features interactive exhibits and a Space Camp for aspiring astronauts. On the same sight is NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre, where the Saturn V rocket that took astronauts to the moon was developed.

First Mardi Gras Celebration

While most people associate Mardi Gras with New Orleans, the first Mardi Gras in the U.S. was celebrated in Mobile, Alabama in 1703, predating New Orleans’ festivities by about 15 years. Mobile still hosts one of the biggest Mardi Gras celebrations.

World’s Largest Motorcycle Museum: Barber Motorsports

Located in Birmingham, the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum is the world’s largest motorcycle collection, featuring over 1,600 bikes from across the globe, some over 100 years old. The museum is part of a larger motorsports park and includes a collection of vintage cars.

Unclaimed Baggage Centre

Since its doors first opened in 1970, Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro has grown to become one of Alabama’s top tourist attractions. Over 99.5% of domestic airline’s checked bags are picked up at the baggage carousel, lost luggage is an unfortunate part of airline travel. After following all the correct procedures, whether it’s laptops, jewellery, or,clothes, Unclaimed Baggage has you covered. In fact, there’s 5,000 to 7,000 new products on the sales floor each day. And a lot of those items are pretty well-discounted with some having up to 50% off.

Throughout Tennessee you’ll find things you just weren’t expecting, like a full-size replica of the Parthenon in Nashville and the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge. Tennessee is also home to a unique natural wonder, The Lost Sea at Sweetwater, listed as “America’s Largest Underground Lake.”

The Parthenon, Nashville

This is the world’s only full-size replica of the ancient Greek temple. It houses the tallest indoor sculpture in the western world, a statue of Athena – the ancient goddess of wisdom and learning and the deity for whom the original Parthenon was erected. Originally built for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition in 1897, the building became unsafe and was rebuilt in 1929. It is an exact replica of the Greek temple, with its architecture including not a single straight line; no two columns are the same size, nor are they placed the same distance apart. No two steps are the same size and the floor is not square or level. This is a proud symbol of Tennessee’s Capitol city, the “Athens of the South.” It houses the city’s permanent art collection and plaster casts of the Elgin Marbles.

Titanic Museum, Pigeon Forge

They’ve built a ship-shaped permanent interactive Titanic Museum Attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.  Everyone knows the name Titanic and everyone knows that Titanic hit an iceberg, but there is so much more to the story. Open the door to the past with the “passenger” experience of what it was like to walk the hallways, cabins and Grand Staircase of the Titanic while surrounded by more than 400 artifacts. As visitors walk the Grand Staircase, third class hallways, reach their hands into 28-degree water, and try to stand on the sloping decks, they learn what it was actually like on the RMS Titanic. Each guest receives a boarding pass of an actual Titanic passenger or crew.

The Lost Sea, Sweetwater

For something completely unique, take a boat ride on the Lost Sea, a natural wonder which is listed as “America’s Largest Underground Lake”. Lost Sea has been designated a Registered Natural Landmark too. This guided tour of the caverns involves a ¾ mile round-trip on wide sloping pathways, while touring the caverns and underground lake. Guides will tell of the cavern’s colorful history.

If you’re a music fan, you’ll be excited to know that the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi is the only GRAMMY museum outside of LA. It is located in Cleveland, Mississippi, a must stop destination on any music inspired fly-drive trip through the Mississippi Delta. The museum focusses the spotlight on the deep musical roots of Mississippi, and their new special exhibit ‘Taylor Swift: Through The Eras’

The exhibit on display until February 2025, will celebrate the 14-time GRAMMY winner’s prolific 18-year career — starting with her 2006 self-titled debut album through to her most recent release, 2024’s The Tortured Poets Department.

The region is so rich in music history, from Elvis’s birthplace in Tupelo, to the home of the Blues in Clarksdale, Indianola for the B.B. King Museum, and Dockery Farms, birthplace of the Blues.

The scenic Natchez Trace Parkway, one of the few roadways that is itself a National Park is renowned for its unspoiled, natural beauty, and a great way to explore Mississippi away from the interstate highways. There are many ways to travel along this scenic byway including hiking, biking, driving or riding.

Stretching diagonally across the state from Natchez to Nashville, Tennessee, a total of 444 miles, the Parkway follows a route through lush forests into the heart of Mississippi’s past. The Trace is lined with markers that point out important sites and detail the fascinating history of this ancient route.

For more information visit: www.deep-south-usa.com

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