If you enjoy taking casual drives with the windows down, enjoying the splendors of Mother Nature, the Stone County Eco Driving Tour is for you. This enjoyable drive will take you off the beaten path, through gorgeous pine forests and past several natural and historic monuments where you can explore as much as you’d like.
The tour includes some of Stone County’s best natural attractions, including Buttercup Flats, a rather large tract of De Soto National Forest that is home to an impressive array of carnivorous pitcher plants and other unique herbacious vegetation. Other stops on the tour include both Black and Red Creeks, Ramsay Springs, the Old Wire Road Trail, and City Bridge Landing. Visitors are encouraged to stop and explore the trails, observe the local flora and fawna, or enjoy a picnic lunch creek-side. Or, simply drive through and take in the scenery, if you prefer!

BUTTERCUP FLATS: From Hwy 49, head east on Hwy 26 for 16 miles to where it intersects with Hwy 15, Buttercup Flats is on the north side of Hwy 26. It’s a large rather open area that is home to an impressive array of pitcher plants and other unique herbaceous vegetation including Toothache Grass, Hatpin Grass, Slash Pine and various lifecycle stages of Longleaf Pine. Turn north on Melton Hatten Road and travel ½ mile to find a walk-in trail to Buttercup Flats.

(Sidebar: Continue east on Hwy 26 for 5 miles to a bridge crossing BLACK CREEK. Turn north before crossing bridge to reach a parking area with access to the creek. Black Creek is part of the US Wild and Scenic River System.)

RAMSAY SPRINGS: From Hwy 26, turn south on Hwy 15 at approximately 6 miles you will be driving parallel to Bluff Creek. Continue south on Hwy 15 for 3 miles, here you will cross Red Creek and be in an area known as Ramsey Springs. At one time the mineral springs found here were known to be curative, a large hotel was located nearby for the visiting guests. A 56-acre parcel of land on river right-of-way upstream of the MS 15 highway bridge is now owned by the State of Mississippi, managed by the Stone County Board of Supervisors and the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain (LTMCP). The ramp and access to the creek from the property is on the south side of the creek.

Continue south on Hwy 15 approximately 2.25 miles and turn west on Wire Road. For approximately 6 miles you’ll be driving through Longleaf, Slash and Loblolly Pine forests under the care of the US Forest Service all part of De Soto National Forest. The 90,000 acre Red Creek Wildlife Management Area is located along this stretch of Wire Road. Beginning on Wire Road at Roy O’Neal Road, the Old Wire Road Trail, a biking and walking pathway, runs parallel to Wire Road East and follows the historic Old Wire Road, the 1846 telegraph line that connected the Gulf Coast with New York.

CITY BRIDGE LANDING: Travel west on Wire Road to City Bridge Road and turn north. About 2 miles north on City Bridge Road you will cross Red Creek. This is a favorite recreational area for locals, has a concrete boat ramp and is called City Bridge Landing.

As you continue going north on City Bridge Road after crossing Red Creek you will be travelling parallel to Bridge Creek to the west for about 1.5 miles.
Keep going north on City Bridge Road, at King Bee Road you’ll find the Big Level Grocery Store, an integral part of the community for years and a great place for a sandwich and conversation. Go another 2 miles and you will reach Hwy 26. At this intersection you can see what was once the Big Level High School.

At Hwy 26 turn west and head back to Wiggins.