Our corner of the world is truly a beautiful one. It doesn’t take living here long to realize that fact. Our area teems with a unique, abundant and diverse flora and fauna.

Lush green byways can be easily taken for granted when you pass by at highway speeds. But travel to a more barren, desolate area of our country, even for a day or two, and you’ll quickly begin missing what our area offers up almost year round.

Scenic areas in which to walk and enjoy the area’s beauty abound. From the Vidalia Riverwalk — which should soon be back to its old self after the historic flooding — to the Natchez Trails, the public paved routes are top-notch.

But if you’re interested in seeing more remote areas, the new trails at Historic Jefferson College offer a great complement to other wonderful walks our area offers, including nature trails at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians and dozens of short hikes available on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Too often we take for granted what our area offers. Doing that makes it easy for us to forget just how important it can be to remind visitors of these gems.

We hope our tourism leaders are taking full advantage of the growing number of nature walks and scenic trails our area now features and spreading the word to would-be visitors.

We can imagine a marketing campaign focused on the beauty of our trails and explaining that Natchez is more than just antebellum houses. We’re the birthplace of Mississippi, a key outpost for early French settlers and so much more.

It’s amazing to think of the history beneath almost every step we make along a trail.