Hit the Trail | Listen

Eat and drink your way through the South along these seven food and beverage trails

Throughout the South, countless food and beverage trails showcase staples from barbecue to sweet tea, telling the stories of those corners of the world. Visitors and locals can set off on these adventures and get to know the flavors of each region as well as the people behind them along the way. These seven culinary trails offer some of the best bites and sips the South has to offer.

Macon Bacon Trail | Georgia

In the middle of Georgia is Macon, a small town whose growing food scene has a key ingredient visitors should know about. Tucked into your biscuit at H&H Soul Food, piled on your bagel at Macon Bagels, and crumbled on your milkshake at The Rookery is bacon. Inspired by the local baseball team, which the town voted to rename the Macon Bacon in 2017, the Macon Bacon Trail features 19 places to enjoy this versatile snack—thin and thick, crispy and crumbled, and in sweet and savory dishes alike. Bacon lovers can download the app, collect badges along the way, and redeem them for prizes at the downtown visitors center, including a chance to win two season passes to Macon Bacon games.

Summerville Sweet Tea Trail | South Carolina

On a hot summer day in the South, there’s nothing more refreshing than sipping sweet tea on the porch. Sweet tea was born in Summerville, South Carolina, dating back to the late 1700s when tea plants were brought to the area. Today, sweet tea is a part of Lowcountry culture. The Sweet Tea Trail is a great way to get to know this beloved beverage, leading to dozens of destinations in Summerville including the Public Works Art Center, Five Loaves Café, and the Birthplace of Sweet Tea mural, where trailblazers can collect stamps and redeem them for gifts at the visitors center. The trail also includes a stop downtown at the World’s Largest Sweet Tea, which set the Guinness World Record in 2016 with a 2,524-gallon jar called Mason.

Mississippi Barbecue Trail | Mississippi

Mississippi is home to world-champion pitmasters and hidden-gem barbecue joints, not to mention the largest barbecue trail in America, with 200+ places to dig into delicious ’cue. The trail includes restaurants, gas stations, and food trucks, along with beloved spots like The Shed Barbeque & Blues Joint and Murky Waters BBQ, highlighting and celebrating eateries, pitmasters, and events across the state. Participants can fill their platters with pork slathered in sauce and all their favorite Southern sides: collard greens, mac and cheese, baked beans, cornbread, coleslaw, and potato salad, and exchange their receipts for bronze, silver, and gold medals, plus bragging rights.

Kentucky Bourbon Trail | Kentucky

After being declared a “distinctive product of the United States” in 1964, bourbon can only be produced in the US, and most bourbon is produced in Kentucky, where the nutrient-rich, limestone-filtered spring water makes the state an ideal location for bourbon-making—so there’s no better place for a bourbon trail. Bourbon enthusiasts can purchase a $15 passport and field guide filled with tips, recipes, resources, and event access and make their way to dozens of renowned distilleries along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Kentucky Bourbon Trail Craft Tour, among them Bardstown Bourbon Co. and Maker’s Mark, collecting stamps at each location to exchange for a gift. Tastings and tours are available along the way, so you can learn more about these famed distilleries and the unique bourbon flavors they produce.

Virginia Oyster Trail | Virginia

A trip to Virginia isn’t complete without oysters. Some of the nation’s best mollusks come from the chilly waters of the Mid-Atlantic and can be enjoyed along the Virginia Oyster Trail in every fashion imaginable, from raw to fried to Rockefeller. Stops include restaurants like Captain George’s Seafood, King Street Oyster Bar, and Water Street Grille, plus oyster farms and seafood markets. Visitors can also book the Virginia Oyster and Wine Tour guided by lifelong locals to hear the history of oysters, learn more about the trail, and experience guided tastings with oyster samples. These popular shellfish can be enjoyed year-round, but they tend to taste best when they’re harvested in the colder months, so fall and winter are good times to explore this trail.

Bayou Country Crawfish Trail | Louisiana

When it comes to seafood, it’s hard to beat crawfish straight from the bayou. Louisiana is the highest producer of crawfish in the country, and these mudbugs are ingrained in the local culture, tracing back to the diets of indigenous people and Cajun settlers. Louisiana’s Bayou Country Crawfish Trail, which leads from downtown Houma, Louisiana, to the Gulf, features more than 30 locations to dig into crawfish, from restaurants to markets and drive-thrus serving popular dishes like crawfish boil, pie, étouffée, and fettuccine. Participants can download the trail guide and collect five receipts along the way to be redeemed for a free Crawfish Trail t-shirt. These crustaceans can be eaten any time of year in Louisiana, but spring and early summer are the best times to enjoy them.

Asheville Ale Trail | North Carolina

Asheville, North Carolina, nicknamed Beer City, has more breweries per capita than any other city in the US. This Western North Carolina community is a destination for beer lovers to celebrate their favorite brews and discover new ones via the Asheville Ale Trail, featuring dozens of breweries, distilleries, cideries, wineries, and tap rooms to explore, with stops like The Blue Door Bottle Shop, Highland Brewing, and Eda Rhyne Distilling Co. Visitors can go to the trail website to access the field guide and digital passports and collect stamps from each brewery to win swag. The field guide outlines each trail stop and includes space for participants to jot down tasting notes like crisp, hoppy, complex, malty, and sour as they sip their way through the Asheville area.

keep reading

On the Road

8 Breweries that Tap into the Mountain Spirit

When temperatures dip and the leaves start to turn the same color as an […]

Dining Out

12 New Restaurants in Louisiana

12 new and exciting restaurants in Louisiana bring even more thriving personality to the […]

Dining Out

7 Noteworthy Mississippi Restaurants | Listen

Whether you’re in the mood for handcrafted pizza or Southern brunch, Mississippi has you […]