The Mississippi Gulf Coast on US-90
From New Orleans to the art towns and long beaches of the Mississippi coast, with a lighthouse, an antebellum beach house and a bayou campground.
- Distance
- 162 km (101 mi)
- Driving
- 1 h 48 min
- Suggested days
- 2
- Stops
- 6
- States
- LA, MS
- Updated
- May 13, 2026
At a glance: 2-day road trip of about 162 km (101 mi) with 6 stops, from New Orleans to Gulf Islands National Seashore, Davis Bayou. About 1 h 48 min of driving in total.
More road trips in Louisiana, Mississippi
Route description
Leave New Orleans on I-10 east and cross into Mississippi to Bay St. Louis, about an hour away. Its Old Town has galleries and cafés on a bluff above the beach, and from here US-90 follows the shore for most of the way to Ocean Springs.
The road runs beside a long man-made sand beach through Pass Christian, Gulfport and Biloxi. Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis’s last home, faces the water, and a few miles farther the 1848 Biloxi Lighthouse stands in the median of the highway; in summer, ferries from Gulfport run to Ship Island and its old fort.
Cross the Biloxi Bay bridge to Ocean Springs, a walkable town of live oaks and galleries. The Walter Anderson Museum of Art shows the bold nature paintings of a local artist who spent weeks alone on the barrier islands.
End at the Davis Bayou area of Gulf Islands National Seashore, with a campground under live oaks and a visitor center. Spring and fall are ideal; summer is hot and humid, and hurricane season runs from June to November.
Stop-by-stop itinerary
In driving order. Distances are estimates between consecutive stops.
- 1Start
New Orleans
LA - 298 km
Bay St. Louis
MS - 343 km
Beauvoir
HistoryBiloxi, MSThe raised beach house where Jefferson Davis spent his last years, now a museum and presidential library across US-90 from the sand.
- 48 km
Biloxi Lighthouse
HistoryBiloxi, MSA cast-iron lighthouse from 1848 standing in the median of US-90, a symbol of the coast’s survival through many hurricanes. Park at the visitor center across the road.
- 59 km
Walter Anderson Museum of Art
HistoryOcean Springs, MSVivid watercolors and murals of Gulf Coast nature by an artist who rowed out to the barrier islands to paint. In the heart of walkable Ocean Springs.
- 64 km
Gulf Islands National Seashore, Davis Bayou
NatureOcean Springs, MSThe mainland section of the national seashore, with a live-oak campground, marsh boardwalks and a visitor center. Look for alligators in the bayou.
FAQs
How long is The Mississippi Gulf Coast on US-90?
2-day road trip of about 162 km (101 mi) with 6 stops, from New Orleans to Gulf Islands National Seashore, Davis Bayou. About 1 h 48 min of driving in total.
How many days do you need for The Mississippi Gulf Coast on US-90?
We suggest 2 days: about 1 h 48 min of driving, which leaves time for the stops.
Where does The Mississippi Gulf Coast on US-90 start and end?
It starts in New Orleans and ends in Gulf Islands National Seashore, Davis Bayou.
Which states does The Mississippi Gulf Coast on US-90 pass through?
Louisiana and Mississippi.
