61 South Day Trip

South of Natchez, along Highway 61 in Mississippi and crossing into Louisiana, lies some of the most beautiful landscape and scenery to be found anywhere in the United States.

This itinerary takes you to the town of Woodville, the seat of Wilkinson County, to the Clark Creek Natural Area with it's 50+ waterfalls and down into Louisiana and the charming town of St. Francisville.

Stop 1: Woodville

Highway 61 (42 minutes away)

Take U.S. Highway 61 South from Natchez to reach Woodville, a small town in the southeastern corner of Mississippi and the seat of Wilkinson County.

• The town is home to the Wilkinson County Museum in a building erected in 1838 as a railroad company
• It stands on Courthouse Square, not far from three of the oldest churches in Mississippi — Woodville Methodist Church, St. Paul's Episcopal Church and Woodville Baptist Church — and the Main Street Market and Café, where you can shop for antiques and lunch
• Visit Rosemont Plantation, boyhood home to Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. Open March through mid-December, during the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage and Fall Pilgrimage and in January and February by appointment — (601) 888-6809

Stop 2: Clark Creek Natural Area / Tunica Falls

Fort Adams Pond Road (32 minutes away)

Head west from Woodville on Main Street/Mississippi State Highway 24 about 30 miles, then turn left at Fort Adams Pond Road/Pond Pinckneyville Road. The Pond Store at the turnoff, a general store dating back to the early 1880s, offers refreshments and maps to the nearby Clark Creek Natural Area state park, also called Tunica Falls.

• More than 50 waterfalls from 10- to 30-feet high cascade over 700 acres of preserved land
• The improved trail is 1.75 miles and takes about two hours to complete; the park also offers more primitive trails for experienced hikers
• Both are great for bird-watching and nature photography
• Public restrooms at the parking area, but bring your own water

Stop 3: St. Francisville

U.S. Highway 61 (42 minutes away)

Sometimes referred to as "the town two miles long and two yards wide," St. Francisville lies along a narrow ridge created during the Glacier Period. Spanish Capuchins (friars of an offshoot from the Franciscan order) built a monastery there in the 1700s — at the time part of the Feliciana Parish belonging to Florida — and Spain chartered the town "La Villa de San Francisco" in the 1800s. Excluded from the Louisiana Purchase, the land later existed independently — the Republic of Feliciana — until it was annexed by the United States in 1810.

• In addition to shopping and dining, visit museums, historic churches, the West Feliciana Parish Court House and West Feliciana Historical Society Museum
• St. Francisville claims the distinction of more plantation homes concentrated in one area than anywhere else in the state of Louisiana, all within 12 miles from the center of town: Butler Greenwood, Catalpa, Cottage, Greenwood, The Myrtles, Oakley House and Rosedown.
• Visit the 250-acre Afton Villa Gardens — once the estate of the burned-down Afton Villa plantation and lovingly restored over 20 years beginning in 1972

From Clark Creek Natural Area, continue southeast on Fort Adams Pond Road to Louisiana Highway 66 to rejoin U.S. Highway 61 South to St. Francisville.

To return to Natchez, simply take U.S. Highway 61 North 30 - 35 minutes.

Alternate Itineraries

Skip Clark Creek Natural Area: To go straight from Woodville to St. Francisville, simply follow U.S. Highway 61 South for 30 - 35 minutes.

Visit Clark Creek Natural Area after St. Francisville: To go from St. Francisville to the Clark Creek Natural Area, take Commerce Steen to U.S. 61 North, after 2.5 miles take Louisiana Highway 66 North to Louisiana Highway 969 North/Fort Adams Pond Road: 40 - 45 minutes total trip.