25 Southern Bucket List Experiences That Will Change Your Life

If you want to fully realize the glory of the South, there are certain bucket list experiences that you absolutely must check off. These quintessential Southern experiences are things you can only do in the South—and they're also things you’ll remember for the rest of your days. Realize a childhood dream by visiting Disney World or witness the Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports in Louisville. Take a walk on the wild side at Everglades National Park or learn about a Southern-born, worldwide legend at Graceland. Walk the pristine grounds of Biltmore Estate or explore the desert expanses of Big Bend National Park. Each of these experiences will show you a different side of the South and give you just one more reason to love the place we call home. Here are 25 life-changing, bucket list experiences (listed in no particular order) that you can only have in the South.

Related: An Unforgettable Mother-Daughter Adventure To West Texas

Watch a Round at the Masters

There’s not a Southern tradition quite like the Masters. Yes, the golf is world-class and the course is gorgeous, but it’s the quirks and customs that make the event so special. For example, patrons aren’t permitted to carry cell phones during tournament rounds and pimento cheese sandwiches still cost just $1.50. Even if you’re not a big golfer, this time-honored competition is something you’ll want to experience once—even if it’s just to see the stunning blooms that surround the Azalea Hole at Augusta National Golf Club.

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Go Hang Gliding in the Outer Banks

Soar through the skies at the exact location where the Wright Brothers famously first took flight. Head to the town of Kitty Hawk in North Carolina’s Outer Banks to experience a rush like no other at the world’s largest hang-gliding school. Kitty Hawk Kites offers hang-gliding lessons on the sandy dunes at Kitty Hawk Beach, as well as at several other outposts across the Outer Banks’ many small beach communities. With a little instruction and a short run, you’ll experience lift off in hardly any time at all.

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Follow the Mississippi Blues Trail

Take a meandering drive through the Magnolia State to get acquainted with the birthplace of blues music. Home to icons like B.B. King and Charlie Patton, the state, and especially the Delta region, is dotted with local landmarks and attractions dedicated to celebrating blues music. Notable stops along the way include the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, the Delta Blues Museum, Blue Front Café (the oldest juke joint in the state), and Ground Zero Blues Club, where you can see today’s hottest blues musicians perform.

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Go Stargazing at Big Bend National Park

With just over 800,000 acres, Big Bend National Park contains the Chisos Mountains, a large portion of the Chihuahuan Desert, and nearly 200 miles of the Rio Grande. Located far out in West Texas on the southernmost edge of Texas near Mexico, it is the eighth-largest national park in the continental U.S., but it sees less than half a million annual visitors, making it one of the most sparsely touristed parks in the system. You won’t find solitude quite like this anywhere else, which makes it the perfect place to seek stunning views of the night sky. Stargazing at Big Bend is nothing short of breathtaking.

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Drive The Blue Ridge Parkway

Voted time and time again as our readers’ favorite scenic drive in our annual South’s Best poll, Blue Ridge Parkway is a road worth traveling in its entirety at least once—if not multiple times over. The 469-mile road, which cuts through the North Carolina and Virginia portions of the Blue Ridge Mountains, features 910 designated vistas and plenty of opportunities to get out and stretch your legs on a hike. All along the way, you’ll be afforded magnificent views of the mountains, towering trees, and lush vegetation.

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Listen to Live Music at the Grand Ole Opry

The legendary country music program celebrates its 100^th anniversary in 2025 and checked off 50 years at the Grand Ole Opry House in March 2024. Time has only heightened the excitement around this famous Nashville venue, where virtually all of country music’s biggest stars have performed. Known for hosting surprise guests and unexpected duets between favorite artists, once-in-a-lifetime performances are the norm at the Grand Ole Opry.

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Taste Your Way through the Kentucky Bourbon Trail

The Bluegrass State is famous for a few things, but many Southerners contend that its biggest claim to fame is a certain dark brown liquid that’s the star of a stiff Manhattan. To sample the state’s finest, visit each of the 18 Kentucky Bourbon Trail distilleries spread across the state that includes four located within walking distance of each other in Louisville. If you’re feeling extra thirsty, there are 23 craft distilleries to add to your itinerary.

See the Biltmore Dressed to Impress

The former residence of George Vanderbilt attracts more than 1 million visitors a year, but the Asheville attraction is never more beautiful, extravagant, or awe-inspiring than it is during the holiday season. Each winter, every inch of the 8,000-acre property and 175,000-square-foot mansion gets all gussied with a seasonal display like no other. Each room of the grand home is decorate to the nines with garland, trees, glowing window candles, and baubles in every size and color imaginable. The 40-foot Fraser fir in the banquet hall is truly a sight to behold.

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Go to Disney World

Every child harbors a dream of going to Disney World, and that desire doesn’t dwindle even after you’ve “grown up”. Experience the pure, unadulterated joy that only the Mouse can bring with a trip to Orlando’s hallmark amusement parks. With the nightly fireworks show lighting up the sky outside Cinderella’s Castle in Magic Kingdom, you’ll understand exactly why this place is oft called the Most Magical Place on Earth.

Talk a Walk on the Wild Side at Everglades National Park

No place in the world is quite like Everglades National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that encompasses 1.5-million acres of diverse ecosystems in South Florida. Explore the stunning surroundings on a kayak tour through dense mangrove forests, freshwater marshes, and the open waters of Florida Bay. While you explore, keep an eye out for exotic species like alligators, crocodiles, snakes, turtles, river otters and even Florida panthers.

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Tailgate at an SEC Football Game

With 14 colleges and universities across the South and a season that lasts from roughly September through December, there are plenty of opportunities to fulfill this bucket list item. Whether you’re invited to a fancy shindig on The Grove at Ole Miss or drop into a Lowcountry boil in Baton Rouge for an LSU game, every school has a signature tailgate style of their own. You don’t have to be a football fan to enjoy the delicious food and spirited camaraderie of game day in the South. Whether you head home to watch the big game on TV after, or make your way into the stadium, a Southern tailgate is a must.

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Attend the Kentucky Derby

The annual Run for the Roses takes over Louisville every May for the most exciting two minutes in sports. Women don their fanciest hats and sundresses, while men put on their crispest seersucker suits, and everyone places their bets for who they think will be the winning horse. This is more than a sporting event, it’s a full weekend of fun that’s jam-packed with Southern traditions from sweet mint juleps to a garland made of red roses for the winning horse.

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Dine at New Orleans’ Classic Restaurants

New Orleans’ food scene is renowned around the world. With its Creole and Cajun roots, plus a host of newer establishments diversifying the always exciting mix, you can spend an entire lifetime in NOLA and still not try every outstanding establishment. To accomplish a true New Orleans restaurant bucket list, there are several classic spots you must try: Dooky Chase’s, Brennan’s, Commander’s Palace, and Galatoire’s to name just a few.

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Boat or Fly to Dry Tortugas National Park

Drone footage of this remote national park is quite the showstopper, and that’s exactly why Dry Tortugas is a bucket list destination. Located 70 miles west of Key West, the 100-square-mile park consists of mostly open water with seven small islands that are only accessible by boat or seaplane. Head to Garden Key, the park’s second largest island, to take in the grand Fort Jefferson, one of the country’s largest 19^th century forts. Surrounded by crystal-clear turquoise water, the sight of the imposing fort is something you’ll never forget.

Visit the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama

There’s not a better way to learn about our nation’s history and understand the lasting impact that slavery has had on our country than by visiting the Legacy Museum and its companion sites, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. Visiting all three sites is a difficult, but also moving, thought-provoking, and important experience for every Southerner to have.

See the Cars Race By at Talladega

Like the Masters or the Derby (only quite a bit louder), seeing a NASCAR race at Talladega Superspeedway is a Southern rite of passage. Whether you’ve got tickets to see the race from the grandstands, or if you’re content to tailgate from the campgrounds, it’s always a party at ‘Dega.

Swim with Manatees in Crystal River, Florida

If you didn’t already have “swimming with sea cows” on your year's bingo card, think again. Head to Florida’s west coast to experience the magical underwater dream you never knew you had. Crystal River is the only places in the country where you can swim with manatees in the wild. Every winter, around 800 manatees seek refuge in the warm waters of Crystal River’s Kings Bay and its 70 natural springs. If you’re willing to brave the chilly water (wetsuits are provided!), you might just find yourself face-to-face with one of these gentle giants.

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Attend a Real Mardi Gras Celebration

You’ve got a couple options for places to go if you're looking to check this experience off your list. Make your way to Mobile, Alabama (known as the birthplace of the holiday) or New Orleans, Louisiana to spend your Mardi Gras in truest form. Both cities observe a month-long Carnival season and all but shut down when Fat Tuesday rolls around. Between the miles-long parades, grandiose balls, delicious food and drinks, and all-around revelry, you’ll never settle for celebrating Mardi Gras with a simple king cake at the office again.

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Relax in a Natural Hot Spring

You may not know a lot about this national park nestled in the scenic Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, but its gorgeous views and restorative natural springs are reason enough to visit. Historic Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs National Park has been a popular vacation destination since the late 1800s. Today you can not only check out the historic bathhouses, but you can still take a dip in the very same bubbling springs that put this Arkansas town on the map more than a 100 years ago.

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See Graceland

They don’t call him the King for nothing. There may never be a Southerner as known or as loved across the globe as Elvis Presley. Learn all about the rock and roll icon at Graceland, his famous mansion and estate in Memphis, Tennessee. As proven by the recent slew of films made about the legend's life, our fascination with the larger-than-life artist knows no bounds.

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Take a Florida Keys Road Trip

There’s perhaps nowhere in the South where you’ll feel more transported than in the Florida Keys, a string of 44 islands connected by the Overseas Highway, which runs for 113 miles from Key Largo to Key West. After all, if you make it all the way to Key West (the continental U.S.’s southernmost point), you’re technically nearer to Cuba than you are mainland Florida. Island time isn’t a figure of speech here. Take an in-no-hurry road trip around the area, and use your newfound freedom from the clock to stop into quirky beach towns whenever the mood strikes.

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Take a Dip in Barton Springs

Swimming holes are one of the truest pleasures of a Southern summer, and the Lone Star State’s capital city is home to one of the South’s most famous pools. Barton Springs, the crowned jewel of Zilker Park is decidedly the place to go on a hot Texas day. The three-acre natural pool is fed from underground springs, which means it runs an average of 68 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. Surrounded by shady trees and lush green hills, with the city skyline silhouetted in the distance, nothing is more quintessentially Austin than spending an afternoon at Barton Springs.

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Visit a Nashville Honky Tonk

If you visit the nation’s country music capital, you can’t leave without spending time on Broadway. The major downtown thoroughfare is known for its lively nightlife, entertainment venues, and bright neon lights. But its the honky tonks, a special mashup of dive bar and dance hall, that folks come from far and wide to see. Two-stepping with a crowd of strangers clad in cowboy boots is a bucket list experience that doesn’t cost much but yields big-time fun. Need a recommendation on where to go? Our readers voted Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge as their favorite.

Traverse the Country’s Longest Cave System

Any time the South can claim the oldest or the biggest (or in this case the longest) something, we’re there. Mammoth Cave National Park’s 420-mile-long labyrinth of underground passageways is heralded as the country’s longest cave system, and it’s more than worth a visit. Take a guided cave tour suited to your sense of adventure, and leave knowing you’ve uncovered just a little bit more of the South than your average traveler.

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Climb Aboard the Virginia Scenic Railway

Is there any form of travel as romantic or as nostalgic … or as utterly delightful as train travel? Not in our books. Take a three-hour ride aboard the Virginia Scenic Railway to witness in all kinds of beauty, from the bucolic Shenandoah Valley to the lush Jefferson National Forest to the majestic Blue Ridge and Alleghany Mountains. Every ticket comes with meal and a dessert, so you’ll have the full experience of luxury train travel all in one journey.

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Read the original article on Southern Living.