7 Off-The-Grid Mississippi Towns To Visit In 2025
The Magnolia State is often overlooked due to its proximity to popular states, including sharing the southeastern belt with Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana. But what it may lack in tourism and popularity, it certainly makes up for in spirit and beauty. That is to say, this strip of a state has its fair share of hidden gems—ones that, if they became more popular, Mississippi's status as a proper and beautiful state could also be elevated. To showcase the most illustrious of those hidden gems, uncover seven off-the-grid Mississippi towns to visit in 2025.
Ocean Springs
Kissing the Gulf of Mexico, Ocean Springs is a proper beach town that blends the properties of the water with its history and cultural identity. Fort Maurepas Park, for instance, manages to show relatively untouched nature and life right by the ocean, as well as being an excellent and renowned spot for picnics. These waters of the coast inspired the American modernist painter Walter Anderson, who is still celebrated today. He even has a nearby museum sharing his namesake, a museum that showcases what the creative mind could do, both with imagination and nature.
Ocean Springs' culture is best learned about at the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center. Not merely to recount the history of this tiny town, but it is also the best place for events, event planning, and key information for the yearly festivals and celebrations, including the Red, White, and Blueberry Festival and the Taste of Ocean Springs Food and Wine Festival.
Natchez
Claiming to be the birthplace of Mississippi, Natchez is an interesting blend of African, French, and Spanish cultures. With a rich, albeit dark, history, Natchez is a very different town from its early days, but still manages to retain its historic heritage in the form of manors and museums.
Firstly, there is Melrose, now a US National Park with 80 acres of lush fields and vegetation. The fields are unmistakably incredible, and the manor is like being transported to another time, pre-Civil War. Although there is no overnight stay at Melrose, the nearby Monmouth Historic Inn, from the Antebellum era, is still accepting guests. It was the peak of luxury and southern hospitality then, and still is now. Its garden is noted for blooming azaleas, roses, and magnolias.
Truth be told, there is much to Natchez, and it would not be a stretch to say that a lot of it hinges on the beauty of the southern mansions and the flora situated around them, though that is not to say all the manors are the same; for example, Longwood, the odd and colorful landmark of the town, is octagonal!
Bay St. Louis
With a population of less than 10,000, Bay St. Louis is on the edge of the waters of its namesake. Known for its art, its flashy nearby casinos, and a wide range of historical landmarks, Bay St. Louis may be little known, but its popularity does not speak to its virtue. The Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum is one such piece of virtue that cannot be ignored, as it celebrates both the life and legacy of Alice Moseley, a late-blooming artist who achieved widespread recognition for her quaint masterpieces—many of which she painted in Bay St. Louis, where she lived the rest of her life.
And who can forget the flashy kind of waterside lights that the Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast Resort shines under the night sky? A luxury experience with a spa, golf course, and marina, it is a resort for high society, relaxation by the water, and architecture from a time gone but not forgotten. And while one can stay at the resort, be sure to check out the seafood in the area, such as from Cuz's Old Town Oyster Bar & Grill, which is known throughout the state for its oysters and dining experience. Their motto speaks to their ambitions, legacy, and quality: Laissez les bon temps roulette!
Laurel
A downtown worth visiting, Laurel's downtown can remind one of the cobblestone streets of New Orleans or the small towns of the Northeast. In fact, their historic downtown is really where most of the attractions and unique spots really are: the Veterans Memorial Museum is nearby and has the mission to honor and preserve the legacy of the American troops. This comes with the exhibits of advanced weaponry and vehicles specifically designed for warfare—from planes, trucks, and tanks.
But for those not interested in the arms of a war, a softer and more gentle experience is available at Landrum's Homestead & Village. A replica of an 1800s settlement and built smack in the middle of a pecan grove, Landum's village offers over 85 different and unique buildings for exploration, as well as a nature trail, plenty of shops, a maze, and a mystery house.
To begin the Laurel experience, the Wisteria Bed and Breakfast is available for lodging, but it itself is more than a mere B&B, for Wisteria is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1901 by a wealthy businessman, Wisteria has its original furnishings, a garden, a courtyard with a fountain, and many relaxed lounging rooms meant to pass the time gently. No trip is wasted in Laurel or at Wisteria.
Canton
A museum town and town of rich history, Canton is known as the City of Lights and is the movie capital of the state, as many notable films have been filmed on site, such as A Time to Kill and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Coen Brothers). Now the Canton Cinema Museum makes full use of the town's past, as the movie sets are perfectly preserved and present both an informative and wonderful time, overlooking replicas and relics of the past. The best part is that all the major museums in Canton are in close proximity—it is a realistic goal to visit both the Multicultural Center and Museum (focusing on the lives of African Americans in Canton) and the Canton Museum of History (a more general and broad-sweeping, traditional museum).
If nothing else, Canton is aware of its importance both in film and its very real-life value. A town dedicated to its past and the oncoming future—what more can be asked for?
Raymond
Tied to the horrors of the Civil War, the little recognition that this especially tiny town of 2,000 has belongs to it being part of a battle entitled The Battle of Raymond (part of the Vicksburg campaign). Today, the battlefield is mostly intact and has become a sober yet oddly recognized tourist spot. Gazing upon the lands of war can only serve this purpose when their brutality is forgotten; nonetheless, the battlefields have a somber and magnetic quality to them.
This, along with the nearby Confederate Cemetery, is among many locations within Raymond that have a direct historical link. The community also enjoys the company of nearby structures that are on the National Register of Historic Places, such as the Gibbs-Von Seutter House (an important house with a unique Greek Revival entrance in a cottage-style home).
Holly Springs
With the apt nickname of Mississippi’s Best Kept Secret, Holly Springs is a beautiful town with plenty to see, do, and experience. It has many places of interest, and it also has a diverse array of old-fashioned buildings and houses from the antebellum period. Among its oddities is The Terrace, a cottage from around 1844, where it is said that the first baby of Holly Springs was born. Then there is the Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, a wildlife conservation center that is in control and in charge of taking care of 3,000 acres of woodland and grasslands—that it is home to marvelous, rare flora and fauna need not be said. The humble Ruby-throated Hummingbird is but one example.
To relax waterside, Wall Doxey State Park is a short drive just south of Holly Springs. It features Spring Lake and 60 acres of exploring, as well as plenty of trails and serene picnic areas—all cleaned and well-maintained. This does not even begin to describe what Holly Springs offers, but it should at the very least give a sense of its great strengths.
Why These Towns?
The hidden gems of the Magnolia State deserve more attention, as the wide array of places, like Holly Springs and Canton, show the strength of the state and, realistically, how much these historically charged towns can hold. From the best seafood near the coast to the quiet towns filled with magnolias and blossoms—to the southern charm of antebellum homes, these towns are the cream of the crop, and what is a gem's value that isn't polished and properly appreciated? Perhaps it is true that these towns may enlarge and radically change in the future, but as they stand right now, they are prizes, deserving of something more.
