Day trips · Memphis · United States
6 best day trips from Memphis
Where to go when you want a day away from Memphis, and how long it really takes.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Ceptember, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
The classic day trip from Memphis is Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta (About 1.5 hours). The closest option is Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta, about 125 km away.
Key facts
- Day trips in this guide
- 6
- Closest
- Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta (125 km)
- Most popular
- Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta
Day trips compared
| Destination | Distance | Travel time | How | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta | 125 km | About 1.5 hours | Car via Highway 61 | Culture, Couples |
| Tupelo | 170 km | About 1 hour 45 minutes | Car | Culture, First-timers |
| Oxford, Mississippi | 125 km | About 1 hour 20 minutes | Car | Culture, Couples, Food lovers |
| Shiloh National Military Park | 175 km | About 2 hours | Car | Culture, Quiet stays |
| B.B. King Museum, Indianola | 210 km | About 2 hours 15 minutes | Car | Culture |
| Little Rock | 215 km | About 2 hours | Car via Interstate 40 | Culture, Families |
The day trips
125 km · About 1.5 hours
1.Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta
Down Highway 61 through the flat cotton country of the Delta, Clarksdale has the Delta Blues Museum, juke joints with live blues on weekends and the legendary crossroads of Highways 61 and 49. Mississippi Blues Trail markers line the route.
- Getting there
- Car via Highway 61
- Best for
- Culture, Couples
.jpg){kind=link}
170 km · About 1 hour 45 minutes
2.Tupelo
Elvis Presley was born in a two-room house in Tupelo in 1935. The birthplace site includes the house, a museum, the church he attended as a child and the hardware store where he got his first guitar.
- Getting there
- Car
- Best for
- Culture, First-timers
125 km · About 1 hour 20 minutes
3.Oxford, Mississippi
Home of the University of Mississippi, Oxford has a lively town square with independent bookshops, restaurants and bars, and Rowan Oak, the home of novelist William Faulkner, set in woodland near campus.
- Getting there
- Car
- Best for
- Culture, Couples, Food lovers
175 km · About 2 hours
4.Shiloh National Military Park
The site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War in April 1862, with a visitor centre, a driving tour of the battlefield, the national cemetery and prehistoric Native American mounds above the Tennessee River.
- Getting there
- Car
- Best for
- Culture, Quiet stays
210 km · About 2 hours 15 minutes
5.B.B. King Museum, Indianola
In the Delta town where B.B. King grew up, this museum, built around an old cotton gin, tells his life story and the history of the Delta blues. King is buried in the museum's memorial garden.
- Getting there
- Car
- Best for
- Culture
215 km · About 2 hours
6.Little Rock
Arkansas's capital has the Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site, where nine Black students integrated the school in 1957, and the William J. Clinton Presidential Library on the Arkansas River.
- Getting there
- Car via Interstate 40
- Best for
- Culture, Families
Day-trip tips
- Leave early: most trips are more relaxed with a morning departure and a return before dinner.
- MATA buses cover the city, but service can be infrequent; check timetables before relying on them for Graceland or Stax.
- For trips over about 300 km, an overnight stay or an organised tour saves a lot of travelling.
Questions travellers ask
+What is the best day trip from Memphis?
Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta. Down Highway 61 through the flat cotton country of the Delta, Clarksdale has the Delta Blues Museum, juke joints with live blues on weekends and the legendary crossroads of Highways 61 and 49.
+How long does it take to get from Memphis to Clarksdale and the Mississippi Delta?
About 1.5 hours — Car via Highway 61, about 125 km.
+How long does it take to get from Memphis to Tupelo?
About 1 hour 45 minutes — Car, about 170 km.