Your Oxford CME conference.

Oxford after your study day

Study days finish at 2:00 PM Central time. For an easy afternoon, choose one outing near your study setting: a walk around the Square, a visit to Rowan Oak, or a stroll across the University of Mississippi campus. Leave time for getting there, and check each place’s closing days before you set out.

Travel, accommodation and any admission are arranged separately. Your conference follows your own schedule and interests; Oxford is the setting you choose for it.

The Square and a literary town

The visitors bureau calls Oxford the Cultural Mecca of the South and presents it as a place that inspired writers including Faulkner, John Grisham, Barry Hannah and Willie Morris. Shops and restaurants cluster around the historic Square within about a half-mile of one another, so it is easy to explore on foot. The Square also has boutiques and an art gallery with monthly showings, and, the bureau says, the South’s oldest department store.

Its website advertises more than 150 author events a year; check the current schedule if you want to catch one.

For food, the bureau counts more than 60 restaurants in town and lists Southern, pizza and Italian, New Orleans-inspired, steak and seafood and barbecue kitchens on and near the Square, along with coffee shops, bakeries and ice cream. It describes the Square as the center of Oxford’s nightlife, with live music in many places six nights a week. The town has about 25,000 residents and more than 400 independent businesses.

Rowan Oak and the university

Rowan Oak is William Faulkner’s former home, run by the University of Mississippi and set on 33 wooded acres a short distance from the Square. The house is closed on Mondays and most university holidays, so check its calendar against your 2:00 PM finish. Inside, Faulkner’s office has the plot outline of his novel A Fable written on the wall in his own hand, and the kitchen is where he often wrote in winter because it was the warmest room. Of the 33 acres, about 4 are landscaped grounds and 29 are woodland known as Bailey Woods. The landscaped part has a scuppernong arbor, an English knot garden, a concentric circle garden, a cedar walkway and outbuildings including a stable built in 1957 and the Post Oak Barn from the 1840s, restored in the early 1990s. The grounds are open daily from dawn until dusk, leashed pets are welcome, and the site lists audio tours for visitors who prefer to go at their own pace.

On campus, the University Museum stands at University Avenue and 5th Street and is closed on Sundays, Mondays and most university holidays. Its collections include Greek and Roman antiquities, Mississippi folk paintings, American art and 19th-century scientific instruments. The campus covers 3,693 tree-filled acres. On football weekends fans tailgate in the Grove and walk the Walk of Champions to the stadium, which fills with about 60,000 people, so book early.

Trails and water within reach

The Bailey Woods Trail runs 3,000 feet through shaded hardwoods near Rowan Oak, and the university says it is open from dawn to dusk daily. That makes it a short walk after a visit to the house. The 5-mile South Campus Rail Trail and Lamar Park’s paved loop are longer options, and Holly Springs National Forest has extended routes.

Sardis Lake spans 32,000 surface acres and is about 20 miles from Oxford according to the visitors bureau, which lists fishing there. The bureau also notes bike lanes through town, golfing, and camping and fishing in the surrounding area, and describes the climate as temperate year-round with moderate humidity. Check the weather and local rules before heading out, since summer afternoons are hot.

When to visit Oxford

The visitors bureau says spring, March through May, and fall, September through November, are the most popular seasons. October is the busiest month because of football and fall color, and spring brings the Double Decker Arts Festival. June highs average around 90°F, July and August are the hottest months, and winters are generally mild, with January highs around 50°F.

For football weekends, Parents Weekend and Homecoming, the bureau recommends booking lodging four to six months ahead. Most visitors spend two to three days in town, and football weekends call for an extra day.

Getting to Oxford and your study setting

Memphis International Airport (MEM) is the arrival point shown in this guide. The tourism bureau says Oxford is only 1 hour and 15 minutes from the airport by car and lists local car service and taxi companies. Choose your accommodation and ground transport with both your study setting and your plans outside study hours in mind.

The map shows straight-line distances from Shift’s designated center. These are orientation distances, not driving distances or travel-time estimates. Check your exact address against the conference’s check-in area before booking.