March 15, 2026
Spring in West Tennessee is something people who grew up here try to explain and never quite can. The dogwoods bloom about two weeks before you expect them. The air smells like cut grass and coming rain. And on a long weekend in April or May, there is no better way to spend a Saturday than pointing your car west and following the Blues Backroads route through Fayette and Tipton counties.
If you have not made the drive from Memphis out toward Somerville and Covington, this is your year. These two towns sit within an easy hour of each other and together they offer exactly the kind of unhurried, genuinely surprising day trip that is harder and harder to find. Here is how to do it right.
Somerville is the kind of place that rewards the people who slow down. The town square anchors the whole experience, and it is one of the best-preserved courthouse squares in West Tennessee. The Fayette County Courthouse has stood at the center of it since 1837, and the buildings surrounding it have the lived-in, slightly lopsided quality of storefronts that have been repurposed a dozen times without losing their original bones.
In the spring, the square comes alive. Local businesses set out plants and merchandise on the sidewalks. There is usually something happening on the weekends, from farmers markets to community gatherings, and the pace of life on the square feels like a corrective to whatever week you just finished.
Before you leave Somerville, take a walk through the residential streets just off the square. The historic homes here are stunning in April and May, when the trees are in full leaf and the gardens are showing off. It is the kind of neighborhood you slow down to look at, and no one minds if you do.
Covington sits at the center of Tipton County, and its downtown has been quietly thriving while a lot of people were not paying attention. The Tipton County Museum is worth an hour of your time, particularly if you have any interest in the agricultural history of this part of the state. The exhibits are well-curated and the building itself is a good-looking historic structure.
The Ruffin Theatre on the square is one of those cultural assets that a town this size should not have, and yet here it is. It hosts live performances throughout the year and in spring the calendar tends to fill up with local productions, traveling performers, and community events. Check what is on before you visit and you may end up with dinner and a show.
Speaking of dinner: Covington has a real food scene by small-town standards. Local spots along and near the square serve the kind of cooking that does not need a backstory or a chalkboard menu to justify itself. It is just good food, made by people who live here, for people who are hungry. That is still the best pitch any restaurant can make.
The stretch of highway between Somerville and Covington passes through open farmland that is doing something different every month of the year. In spring, the fields are freshly planted or just turning green, and the sky over West Tennessee tends toward the dramatic, all cumulus clouds and late afternoon light. There is a reason people photograph this landscape. It earns it.
Take the smaller roads when you can. The route will add a few minutes and give you an entirely different experience of what is out there.
Covington sits at the center of Tipton County, and its downtown has been quietly thriving while a lot of people were not paying attention. The Tipton County Museum is worth an hour of your time, particularly if you have any interest in the agricultural history of this part of the state. The exhibits are well-curated and the building itself is a good-looking historic structure.
The Ruffin Theatre on the square is one of those cultural assets that a town this size should not have, and yet here it is. It hosts live performances throughout the year and in spring the calendar tends to fill up with local productions, traveling performers, and community events. Check what is on before you visit and you may end up with dinner and a show.
Speaking of dinner: Covington has a real food scene by small-town standards. Local spots along and near the square serve the kind of cooking that does not need a backstory or a chalkboard menu to justify itself. It is just good food, made by people who live here, for people who are hungry. That is still the best pitch any restaurant can make.
Spring in this part of West Tennessee brings out a few things worth knowing about. The wildflowers along the roadsides are at their peak in April and May, and the stretches of two-lane road between towns are genuinely beautiful. If you see a roadside stand selling produce or flowers, stop. The tomatoes are not ready yet, but the strawberries usually are by late spring, and the people selling them almost always know something interesting about the area.
Birding is also excellent through this corridor in the spring migration window. West Tennessee sits along a major flyway, and in April and May you can see species passing through that you will not spot any other time of year.
A Saturday itinerary that works well: leave Memphis or the suburbs mid-morning, hit Somerville first, spend a couple of hours on the square and in the neighborhood. Have lunch in Somerville if anything looks right, or save the appetite for Covington. Arrive in Covington early afternoon, spend time downtown, hit the museum, find a coffee shop, and then circle back slowly through the countryside before the light gets low.
You will not need a reservation, a plan, or a detailed itinerary. That is the whole point of Blues Backroads. The route exists to make a certain kind of unhurried West Tennessee day easier to have. Somerville and Covington together are one of the best expressions of what that looks like in spring.
Follow Blues Backroads on Facebook and Instagram for more on what is happening along the route this season.
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