Lowndes County offers a variety of options for a trip: paths along the Tombigbee River, forest landscapes, and a rich cultural history. When planning, you can decide whether you would rather spend your time outdoors, at historic sites, or at events. The destinations below also vary in their route lengths and themes.
Explore the water and trails
The Columbus Riverwalk is 2.2 miles long, starts on Main Street, and runs along the Tombigbee River. It is designed for walking and cycling. Amenities include two pavilions, restrooms, benches, bike racks, and picnic tables. So, as well as a route, the Riverwalk offers places to take a break or have a picnic.
Those interested in longer trails and a variety of forest landscapes will find five miles of paths through bottomland forests and upland mixed forests at the Plymouth Bluff Center. The nature trails run through 190 acres of forest and over the crest of a 60- to 70-foot bluff. From there, you can look out over the old course of the Tombigbee River. Plymouth Bluff's fossil beds contain numerous marine shell fossils—offering a different way to explore the area's natural history than the view from the bluff.
The Opossum Trail is 5.6 miles long and offers a self-guided tour of native plants, trees, and wildlife. By comparison, the Columbus Riverwalk, at 2.2 miles, is the shorter of the two routes; the distances help you compare trail lengths, but not estimate walking times. Lake Lowndes State Park is located on a 150-acre lake. The Dewayne Hayes Recreation Area has 100 campsites with electric and water hookups, as well as ten primitive sites. Activities available there include fishing, boating, hiking, and sightseeing along the riverbanks.
Columbus Lock and Dam East Bank is another waterside destination: it is in Lowndes County on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, next to Stennis Lock and Dam. Amenities include a boat ramp and three fishing piers. This offers different ways to experience the waterways—from a riverside route to a place with facilities for boating and fishing.
Cultural history and architecture
The Tennessee Williams Home and Welcome Center is the first home of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tennessee Williams and has been designated a National Literary Landmark. Those interested in literary history will find a tangible connection here to an early chapter in the writer's life.
The history of Mississippi University for Women also shapes Columbus's cultural offerings. Founded in 1884 as The Industrial Institute and College, it was the first public college for women in the United States. The historic campus has 23 buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The university's galleries house the departments of art and design, as well as music and theatre. This brings institutional history and several art forms together in one place.
The Stephen D. Lee Home houses the Florence McLeod Hazard Museum, with collections and artifacts relating to the American Civil War. The R.E. Hunt Museum & Cultural Center has been preserved as a museum and cultural center and is designated a Mississippi Historic Landmark. The Agnes Zaiontz Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Transportation Museum and Intermodal Learning Center offers another perspective on transportation history, with artifacts and information about rail and road transport.
At Annunciation Catholic Church, the focus is on architecture and furnishings. Father Jean Baptiste Mouton designed the original church in the Gothic Revival style, and the Jacoby stained-glass windows have been preserved. The restored church is used as a daily Mass chapel and for weddings and other special celebrations. If you have a specific visit in mind, it is a good idea to check the current schedule. Lowndes County Courthouse, meanwhile, is connected to the history of state politics during the Civil War: after Jackson fell to the Union, Mississippi's legislature met there.
Local history and events
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Catfish Alley was a central gathering place and business district for Columbus's African American community. The street was known for the smell of catfish sandwiches, which gave the neighborhood its name. Catfish also features in Catfish in the Alley, an annual spring event in Columbus that serves farm-raised Mississippi catfish and other Southern dishes. For specific travel plans, check the dates and details of that year's event.
The Spring Pilgrimage includes tours of numerous antebellum homes, lantern tours, and carriage rides through historic neighborhoods. Here, too, it is worth checking the current event dates. Another historical connection leads to Friendship Cemetery: in 1866, local women planned a ceremony at Twelve Gables to decorate the graves of Confederate and Union soldiers; this ceremony led to the creation of Memorial Day. Rows of marble stones in the cemetery mark the final resting places of 2,194 Confederate soldiers. Another stone commemorates Mrs. Canant as the only Confederate nurse officially recognized by the United States government.
Friendship Cemetery also hosts an annual candlelight event at which students perform dramatic monologues about people buried there. Attending the event can complement learning about the cemetery's history; check current dates before your trip. Art lovers will find a different focus at the Rosenzweig Arts Center, which includes retail and exhibition galleries, classrooms, a theater, and event spaces. Free gallery exhibitions are held monthly.
Discover more destinations: Columbus, Madison, Grenada County, Copiah County, Desoto, Webster County, Pearl River County, Marshall
For the main travel overview: Mississippi.
