Memphis + Beyond: 2 Day Mid-South Trip
Two days is tight, so this trip covers the Memphis core fast on day one and spends all of day two south of the state line, at the Delta blues pilgrimage that makes Memphis worth using as a base in the first place. Rent a car, both days need one, Clarksdale is about 75-95 minutes south on Highway 61 and there’s no realistic way to do that trip without wheels.
Day 1: Memphis, fast
Start at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel (450 Mulberry St), built around the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968. Give it real time even on a tight schedule, it’s a profound museum, not a quick stop. About $25 adult / $22 child / $23 senior-student, 9am-6pm, last entry 5pm, closed Tuesdays.
Lunch at Central BBQ for Memphis dry-rub ribs, then walk Beale Street, by day for the historical markers if your schedule allows it, or in the evening for the live music, B.B. King’s Blues Club and Rum Boogie Cafe are the two most reliable stops. Weekend nights after 9pm bring a $5 security fee at some entrances plus ID checks and metal detectors.
One honest note before you leave the city: Memphis’s citywide crime rate runs above the US average but concentrates outside the tourist core, and 2026 has actually been the lowest violent-crime half-year on record here. The real risk to a visitor is car break-ins, not violence, hence the local police campaign “Stow It, Don’t Show It.” Keep nothing visible in a parked car, in Memphis or once you’re in Mississippi.
Day 2: Clarksdale, Mississippi
Leave early, it’s about 75-95 minutes south on Highway 61. Clarksdale is the real Delta blues pilgrimage: the Crossroads where Highways 61 and 49 meet, Ground Zero Blues Club (Morgan Freeman is a co-owner), the Delta Blues Museum, and Red’s Juke Joint for an authentic, unpolished live-music room. If your dates land on April 11, 2026, Clarksdale’s Juke Joint Festival is worth timing around.
Given the drive, don’t try to also fit Memphis sights back in on the same evening, treat this as a full day out and back. If two days leaves you wanting the rest of the Delta and Mid-South, that’s exactly what the longer itineraries are for.
Concrete tip: fill up on gas before you leave Memphis, options thin out once you’re on Highway 61 south of the city. Book ahead: Ground Zero Blues Club can get busy on weekend nights, and if you want to stay over at the Shack Up Inn’s sharecropper-shack rooms instead of driving back same day, book that ahead too. For a fuller Delta stop with Tunica added, see the 3-day itinerary ; for the classic city-first version of a Memphis trip, Memphis 2 Day Itinerary covers Graceland and Sun Studio instead.