Starkville was the first college town I visited as a prospective student back in 2000. My cousin attended Mississippi State University at the time, and somehow, 25 years later, we both ended up back there on the exact same weekend. He and his sons were in town for the LSU baseball series, while I was visiting for Super Bulldog Weekend and the Starkville Derby.

I’m forever a fan of Southern college towns, but Starkville raises the bar on what that experience is all about.

Maybe it’s the SEC baseball culture. Maybe it’s the walkable pockets of downtown and the colorful murals cropping up everywhere. Maybe it’s the nature. Or maybe it’s the combination of old-school Southern traditions and the architecture of the Cotton District.

Whatever it is, Starkville feels less like a place built only for students and more like a well-rounded destination meant for everybody, from locals to weekend visitors. And if you’re planning a spring trip? Go during the Starkville Derby. Seriously, take my word for it.

After two visits to Starkville in less than a year, here’s my guide to enjoying Mississippi’s College Town.

This post is sponsored by Visit Starkville. All opinions and SEC loyalty are my own.

Where to Stay in Starkville

There are numerous hotels and Airbnbs in Starkville, depending on what vibe you’re going for. When we traveled to Starkville in the summer, we stayed in an Airbnb a convenient five minutes from the heart of campus. On that visit, I saw a hotel that I knew I had to stay in on my next visit to Starkville.

Far Out Motel

Far Out Motel is a retro roadside motel reimagined with colorful, updated interiors and an easy downtown location. The property leans fully into its midcentury aesthetic with splashes of color donning the doors and common areas, and it’s within walking distance of bars, restaurants and live music venues. What used to be the pool is now a central courtyard and gathering space where guests hang out over beers and watch Starkville sporting events on the big screen.

There’s also a piece of Starkville lore attached to the motel: Johnny Cash reportedly stayed here—specifically in room 22—back when it operated as the University Motel before his infamous 1965 arrest for picking flowers from a neighborhood yard after a concert. The incident later inspired his song “Starkville City Jail,” now commemorated by a Mississippi Country Music Trail marker at Highway 182 and Jackson Street. And yes, I got to stay in the very room once occupied by the Man in Black himself.

What to Do in Starkville

There are so many fun things to do in Starkville, I’m grateful I got to visit twice in less than a year as I definitely didn’t check out everything I wanted to see on the first stay. Here are some Starkville attractions worth prioritizing.

Soak up the nature at Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge

One of my favorite things from my recent trip to Starkville was the wildlife refuge—and due to its location on the city’s outskirts, it’s the perfect activity for the front end of your trip (or, on the flip side, the last thing you do as you’re leaving town).

Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1940 to protect thousands of acres of forests, wetlands and lakes that support everything from migratory birds to white-tailed deer.

Visitors can stop by the visitor center for exhibits and maps, drive the scenic refuge roads, stroll boardwalks and nature trails or take in the landscape from overlooks scattered throughout the property. Fishing is allowed seasonally in designated lakes, while hiking trails wind through some of Northeast Mississippi’s most peaceful scenery.

The refuge also preserves an important layer of regional history tied to Native American land stewardship and the Choctaw Nation prior to early European-American settlement.

Visit the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library

Are you as surprised as I am that there is a presidential library in a small Southern town with a population of just 26,000? Truly blew my mind, and I knew it was going to be a first stop on our weekend in Starkville.

The Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library at Mississippi State houses one of the country’s largest collections related to President Grant and the Civil War. Opened in 2017, the archive contains thousands of photographs, artifacts, research materials and pieces of correspondence connected to Grant’s presidency and military career. Even if you aren’t a hardcore Civil War historian, the scale of the collection is impressive.

See the Cullis & Gladys Wade Clock Museum

Another quirky “only in Starkville” stop? See clocks, clocks and more clocks!

Directly across from the stadium inside the MSU Welcome Center sits the Cullis & Gladys Wade Clock Museum. The museum contains more than 400 clocks spanning three centuries, including examples from nearly every major American clockmaker. It’s compact, surprisingly calming and one of the more unexpected things we did all weekend.

Explore the Cotton District

The Cotton District started as the center of Starkville’s cotton mill activity before being reimagined into one of the city’s most recognizable neighborhoods. In addition to being a central gathering place for students and visitors, it also becomes the “racetrack” for the Starkville Derby dachshund races each spring.

Designed with influences pulled from Charleston, New Orleans and European cities, the district mixes apartments, patios, bars, restaurants and retail into a single compact, walkable area. You can easily spend an afternoon here bouncing between coffee shops, storefronts and outdoor patios.

Stroll down Main Street

Downtown Starkville is currently in the middle of a major streetscape overhaul focused on improving pedestrian access and infrastructure. One detail I loved learning: The sidewalks were originally elevated to accommodate horse-drawn carriages, so portions of the current renovation involve raising the streets to meet them.

Despite the construction, the downtown businesses remain open, and there’s enough shopping and dining concentrated along Main Street to justify spending a few hours exploring. I filled my bags with cute dresses (this is a college town with a major sorority scene, after all) and jewelry from independently owned shops.

Mississippi State Cheese Store

Before you head home, there’s one final stop that is simply non-negotiable: the Mississippi State cheese store. The MAFES Sales Store’s famous cannonball-style Edam cheese has been an MSU tradition since the late 1930s, when teakwood molds were shipped from Holland to Mississippi State to begin production.

Today, the university still produces roughly 50,000 balls of Edam cheese each year through its teaching and research dairy program. After watching people walk out carrying stacks of boxes, I quickly realized visiting wasn’t optional, it’s required.

Where to eat and drink in Starkville

There are so many places to eat in Starkville that you should consider this a mere starting point. Many of the restaurants are located in the Cotton District or downtown.

Breakfast in Starkville

The Coffee Depot

Housed inside a restored train depot near downtown, the Coffee Depot is the kind of local coffee shop every college town wishes it had. This spacious café serves espresso drinks, smoothies and light breakfast and lunch fare, with plenty of seating for cozying up with your laptop (or a friend). The patio is popular on milder mornings.

Starkville Cafe

Every college town has its staple no-frills diner, and Starkville Cafe is Starkville’s. Serving classic Southern breakfasts since 1945, it remains one of the city’s longtime and most storied institutions. Pro tip: The homemade bacon, egg and cheese biscuit lives up to the hype.

Strange Brew

My favorite way to get the pulse on a town is by touring its local coffee shops, and Strange Brew Coffeehouse feels exactly how I would expect one of the coolest cafes in Starkville to feel. The menu ranges from specialty espresso drinks and house coffees to breakfast sandwiches, pastries and light lunch offerings, making it just as suitable for lingering over brunch as grabbing a quick caffeine fix.

Upstairs, a cozy lofted library area filled with books, mismatched seating and tucked-away corners gives the space an especially welcoming vibe: part study hall, part living room, part community hangout.

Arepas Coffee & Bar

Bright, colorful and full of personality, Arepas Coffee & Bar is one of Starkville’s go-to brunch and coffee spots. The menu blends Venezuelan-inspired flavors with café staples, featuring stuffed arepas, breakfast plates, pastries and specialty coffee drinks. I had a kind of Latin American-style avocado toast, and it was one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in ages.

Lunch in Starkville

The Little Dooey

No trip to Starkville is complete without true Mississippi barbecue from the Little Dooey, hailed for its smoked meats, laid-back atmosphere and walls plastered with Mississippi State memorabilia. The menu covers all the Southern barbecue staples—pulled pork, ribs, brisket, smoked chicken—but the homemade sides and sauces are just as much a draw as the meat itself.

Older Brother

An anchor of the Cotton District, the Older Brother is where you go for a nice lunch in Starkville, albeit one where it’s still acceptable to wear jeans and/or all your maroon-and-white garb. Featuring wood-fired cooking, seasonal ingredients and creative small plates, the restaurant is small but worth the wait. It’s also a popular dinner spot in Starkville with the cocktail program and curated wine list only adding to its appeal.

The Other Brother

Located adjacent to its sibling concept, the Other Brother offers a more laid-back counterpart centered around pizza, sandwiches, beer and other comfort foods. I went for the pulled pork and baked beans and stayed to soak up the atmosphere in the indoor-outdoor space during Derby weekend

Dinner in Starkville

44 Prime

Dinner at 44 Prime ended up being one of the highlights of our first trip. The restaurant is posh but not overly formal, making it a favorite when parents come to town to treat their college kids or for when you’re visiting on a game weekend and don’t want a casual meal. I would make a reservation as far in advance as possible as the restaurant books up fast.

Restaurant Tyler

Restaurant Tyler has become one of Starkville’s best-known restaurants for its updated take on Southern cooking. Chef Jonathan “Ty” Thames trained in Vermont and Italy before returning home to Mississippi to open the restaurant more than 20 years ago. The menu pulls from regional Southern traditions while incorporating more modern techniques and ingredients, and it easily rivals restaurants in much larger cities.

Taste Italian Kitchen

One of Starkville’s newer additions, Taste Italian Kitchen brings a more elevated take on Italian dining to the fringe of the Cotton District. The menu leans into handmade pastas, wood-fired pizzas and classic Italian comfort dishes, alongside a cocktail and wine program that makes it well-suited for date night or a leisurely dinner with friends after a Mississippi State game.

Bars in Starkville

Drinks at Bin 612

Bin 612 was packed when we stopped by, and for good reason. The patio fills up quickly with students, alumni and visitors during baseball weekends, and it’s one of the better places in town to grab a drink before dinner. It’s also prime territory for watching the Derby as it has a front-row view of the track.

The Guest Room

Hidden behind (and beneath) Restaurant Tyler, The Guest Room operates as a speakeasy-style cocktail bar with low lighting and a quieter atmosphere than many of the college bars nearby. You’ll know you’re there by the single lantern that illuminates the door. The Guest Room made for a solid final stop after the baseball game before walking back to my motel.

When to visit Starkville

Starkville is a college town, so visiting anytime from late-August through mid-May will give you a taste of the youthful energy that permeates the city. If you want to see an SEC football game and leave with your ears ringing (see: cowbells), then you best visit from September through November.

My tip? Visit Starkville for Super Bulldog Weekend and get SEC sports with a side of weiners (of the canine variety, that is).

Starkville Derby Weekend

The Starkville Derby may technically center around dachshund racing, but calling it only a dog race largely undersells the scale of the event. It is an absolute chaos in the best way possible.

Picture this: Hundreds of dogs, dachshunds and other breeds, parading around the Cotton District in all manners of costumes. Many of them line up to “race” (or meander) down the Bluff City Turf Co. Green Carpet Track that lines the center of the street.

Founded in 2023, the festival has already grown into the world’s largest dachshund race, drawing more than 250 racing dogs from 24 states along with tens of thousands of attendees. This year’s event alone raised more than $75,000 for shelter pets through the Oktibbeha County Humane Society.

I arrived around 10am with the races officially kicking off at 11:30. Over the next few hours, I saw more than 80 heats of dashing dachshunds (including PUPPIES), plus a few celebrity influencers like Lil Max.

The day includes food vendors, live music, flyovers, art booths, cocktail tents and crowds lining the turf track cheering for dogs who occasionally sprint in the wrong direction entirely, which honestly makes it even better.

The festival also coincides with Super Bulldog Weekend, meaning baseball fans and derby crowds essentially merge into one giant SEC spring weekend.

Mississippi State Baseball at Dudy Noble Field

I had no idea college baseball could feel this intense, and you know I love me some live sports. The atmosphere at Dudy Noble Field somehow feels both grand and intimate at the same time. The cowbells never stop, the outfield lounges operate like an amalgamation of backyard parties, and the crowd stays fully engaged for all nine innings.

The game we attended drew 15,239 fans, marking the third-highest attendance in SEC history. And yes, it was definitely more fun than many MLB games I’ve attended. We were hosted in the Left Field Lounge during the LSU series, and it completely changed how I think about college baseball culture.

It felt less like attending a sporting event and more like being invited into a community ritual that spans generations (much like tailgating at Neyland Stadium prior to a UT game). My younger cousins were locked in.

I spoke to several students who said they purchased GA tickets for less than $10 a pop, making a Mississippi State baseball game one of the most affordable activities in Starkville, particularly if you’re traveling with a family.

Understanding the Cowbell Tradition

Before you go to Starkville, there’s one thing you have to understand, and that’s why you’ll see—and definitely hear—cowbells everywhere. According to Mississippi State legend, a roaming Jersey cow wandered onto the field during a rivalry game against Ole Miss in the 1930s and supposedly helped the Bulldogs secure a win.

By the 1950s, cowbells had become inseparable from the game-day atmosphere. Today, they remain one of the defining traditions associated with Mississippi State athletics.

There’s an unwritten rule that you shouldn’t buy your own first cowbell—it should be gifted to you instead. So obviously, a local friend had to give us one as a way to welcome us to Starkville in true Bulldog fashion!

FAQ about visiting Starkville

What is Starkville, Mississippi known for?

Starkville is best known as the home of Mississippi State University, SEC sports culture and Dudy Noble Field. The city has a growing food scene, lively downtown district and easy access to outdoor areas like the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.

Is Starkville worth visiting if you’re not attending a Mississippi State game?

Absolutely. Game weekends bring an undeniable energy that’s unmatched, sure. But Starkville is one of the best college towns in the South for a weekend focused on restaurants, coffee shops, shopping and culture.

How many days do you need in Starkville?

If you have two to four nights, you’ll get a good feel for the downtown. You’ll also have time to experience a college game, sample the local restaurant scene and visit the nearby outdoor attractions.

What are the best restaurants in Starkville?

Local favorites include The Little Dooey for barbecue, Taste Italian Kitchen for pizza and pasta, and Arepas Coffee & Bar for brunch and coffee.

When is the best time to visit Starkville?

Fall football season and spring baseball season are the most popular times to visit Starkville. Spring also brings milder weather and events like Super Bulldog Weekend.

What is the Left Field Lounge?

The Left Field Lounge at Dudy Noble Field is one of college baseball’s most famous traditions. It features elaborate tailgating setups beyond the outfield fence during Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball games.