Cycling in Tupelo

Tupelo wears two jerseys: it’s the headquarters city of the Natchez Trace Parkway — the 444-mile National Scenic Byway that’s a designated bike route end to end, free of stop signs and commercial trucks — and it’s Elvis Presley’s hometown. Local tourism leans into both. The visitor bureau publishes a self-guided Elvis’ Tupelo bicycle tour that strings together 14 landmarks from the King’s childhood, from his two-room birthplace to the hardware store that sold him his first guitar.

The lodging story here is the best in the state for cyclists: Hotel Tupelo, a boutique property on East Main Street downtown, lists complimentary bikes as an amenity on its own website and even sells a package that bundles hotel bikes with birthplace tickets for the Elvis ride. Two local bike shops — Trails & Treads and the long-running Bicycle Pacelines — are the rental fallbacks, though both keep their rental details offline, so call ahead.

Beyond town, the Parkway’s smooth pavement rolls north and south for as many miles as your legs want, and the 43.6-mile Tanglefoot Trail, Mississippi’s longest rail-trail, starts about a half-hour northwest in New Albany. Spring and fall bring the mild temperatures; in summer, ride at dawn before the Mississippi humidity settles in.