Mississippi | State Parks

Dahomey National Wildlife Refuge (Boyle)

Dahomey NWR is located 15 miles south west of Cleveland, Mississippi. It was established in 1990 when the Nature Conservancy (TNC) purchased 9, 269 and leased the land back to the Service for management. In 1993, the Service completed acquisition of the TNC lands. One additional 162 acre tract was purchased by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and turned over to the Service in 1991.

Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge (Gautier)

The Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge is one of more than 540 national wildlife refuges administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It was established in 1975 to safeguard the endangered Mississippi sandhill crane and its unique disappearing wet pine savanna habitat. The refuge consists of more than 19, 000 acres in four units and is now part of the Gulf Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway - Bay Springs Lake (Dennis)

The Tenn-Tom Waterway is an outdoor enthusiasts' paradise with outstanding opportunities for camping, picnicking, boating, fishing, and hunting. The Waterway begins at Gainesville, Alabama and extends over 200 miles into northeast Mississippi where it connects to the Tennessee River. It includes 10 lock and dams, Gainesville Lake, Aliceville Lake, Columbus Lake, Aberdeen Lake, a 46 mile Canal Section, Bay Springs Lake, and a 39 mile Divide Cut Section.

Arkabutla Lake (Coldwater)

Known for its large crappie, this project offers camping, swimming, and excellent sailing. Special events include a Deer Hunt For Persons With Disabilities.

Grenada Lake (Grenada)

Grenada Lake, MS, on the Yalobusha and Skuna Rivers, is home to the "Thunder on Water" festival held annually in June. A visitor center, fitness trail and tennis courts are just some of the recreation opportunities located on the lake in addition to camping, boating and picnicking facilities. Civil War redoubts are located on Grenada Lake project lands and Civil War reenactments take place here.

St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge (Sibley)

St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge was established in January 1990 to preserve, improve and create habitat for waterfowl. Intensive management programs on the refuge provide excellent winter habitat and resting areas for waterfowl in the Lower Mississippi River Valley.

Natchez Trace Parkway-Alabama (Tupelo)

Native Americans, Kaintuck boatmen, post riders, government officials, soldiers and fortune seekers all moved across this 425-mile trail charting new territory and creating a vital link between the Mississippi Territory and the fledgling United States.

Natchez Trace Parkway-Tennessee (Tupelo)

Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site (Tupelo)

Located on MS Hwy 370 four miles west of Baldwyn, this one-acre site commemorates a battle which had one objective-- make impossible the threat of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest to interfere with General William T. Sherman's railroad supply line from Nashville to Chattanooga during the Atlanta campaign. Forrest scored a decisive victory over General S.D. Sturgis' Union forces when they met at Brices Cross Roads on June 10, 1864.

Natchez National Historical Park (Natchez)

Natchez National Historical Park celebrates the rich cultural history of Natchez, Mississippi and interprets the pivotal role the city played in the settlement of the old southwest, the Cotton Kingdom and the Antebellum South. The Park is made up of three units, Fort Rosalie is the location of an 18th Century fortification built by the French and later occupied by the British, Spanish and Americans.

Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway - Columbus (Columbus)

Enid Lake (Enid)

Just off I-55, this lake has a fishing pier for the handicapped below the dam and an equestrian trail in addition to its 12 recreation areas with 231 picnic sites, 251 class A Campsites and 23 Class C Campsites, 11 boat ramps and 5 swimming beaches.George Payne Cossar State Park is located on the project and provides additional recreational facilities, including overnight lodging.

Okatibbee Lake (Collinsville)

Okatibbee Lake is an 11, 000-acre multi-purpose project. The Corps of Engineers maintains one full service campground; 4(four) day use parks with 3 designated swimming areas and (4) four boat ramps. Also, Okatibbee Lake offers excellent hunting opportunities. Presently there are 6, 900 acres of land and flooded woodlands leased to the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks for hunting and wildlife viewing.

National Forests in Mississippi (Jackson)

Forming a majestic gateway to over one million acres of unspoiled timberland, moss-draped oaks and stately pines frame each path in Mississippi's six National Forests. The six Forests, the Bienville, the Delta, the De Soto, the Homochitto, the Holly Springs, and the Tombigbee National Forests are dispersed over the entire state.

Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge (Moss Point)

Grand Bay NWR is one of over 540 National Wildlife Refuges managed as part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Grand Bay NWR was established in 1992 under the Emergency Wetlands Resources act of 1986 to protect one of the largest expanses of undisturbed pine savanna habitats in the Gulf Coastal Plain region. The refuge is located in Mobile County, Alabama and Jackson, County Mississippi, and when complete will encompass over 32, 000 acres.

Hillside National Wildlife Refuge (Cruger)

Hillside NWR, established in 1975, occupies over 15, 500 acres along the eastern edge of the Mississippi /Yazoo River Alluvial Plain in Holmes and Yazoo Counties. Refuge lands were purchased by the Corps of Engineers for their Hillside Floodway, Yazoo Basin Headwater Project which transformed much of the land into a silt collection sump. The purpose of the project is to allow silt-laden waters to settle before reaching the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers, preventing costly dredging projects.

Mathews Brake National Wildlife Refuge (Cruger)

Mathews Brake NWR, established in 1980, encompasses 2, 418 acres in west-central Mississippi. The major natural feature of the refuge is Mathews Brake, a 1, 810 acre oxbow lake. The shallow lake consist of baldcypress and water tupelo trees in the deeper portions, with buttonbush, American lotus, and swamp privet thickets in more shallow water. The refuge manages the water level in the brake to promote moist soil plants and to sustain the oak component for migratory birds.

Morgan Brake National Wildlife Refuge (Cruger)

Morgan Brake NWR, established in 1977, encompasses 7, 381 acres in west central Mississippi. It is situated on the extreme eastern edge of the Mississippi/Yazoo River Alluvial Plain between U.S. Highway 49 and the adjacent loess hills in Holmes County. The refuge was originally established to protect hardwood bottoms for use as an inviolate sanctuary, and other management purposes for migratory birds.

Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge (Brooksville)

Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge is located in three counties (Noxubee, Oktibbeha, and Winston) and was originally created from lands obtained through the 1930's Resettlement Administration. With additional land acquisitions through the years, Noxubee now consists of 48, 000 acres. Approximately 44, 500 acres of the refuge is bottomland and upland forest. These forest lands are occupied by a variety of game species, including quail, deer, and turkey.

Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge (Grenada)

The Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1990 and consists of 4, 083 acres in Grenada and Tallahatchie Counties. Topography is relatively flat and land has been subject to extensive clearing and drainage. Upon acquisition the refuge lands consited mostly of agricultural fields. Since then, nearly 1, 300 acres have been reforested.

Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge (Hollandale)

Yazoo NWR, established in 1936, encompasses almost 13, 000 acres and consists of diverse habitat managed for migratory birds and endangered species. Habitats vary from bottomland hardwoods to cypress swamps and agricultural fields. Emphasis is placed on providing food for wintering waterfowl, which utilize the refuge in large numbers, at times exceeding 250, 000 birds. These foods consist of corn, milo, rice, wheat, etc. and moist-soil plants.

Natchez Trace Parkway-Mississippi (Tupelo)

Since the late 1930s the National Park Service has been constructing a modern parkway that closely follows the course of the original Natchez, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Indian trail to the northeast, an unhurried route from Natchez to Nashville.

Natchez Trace Parkway (Tupelo)

The 444-mile Natchez Trace Parkway commemorates an ancient trail that connected southern portions of the Mississippi River to salt licks in today?s central Tennessee. Over the centuries, the Choctaw, Chickasaw and other American Indians left their marks on the Trace. The Natchez Trace experienced its heaviest use from 1785 to 1820 by the ?Kaintuck? boatmen that floated the Ohio and Miss. Rivers to markets in Natchez and New Orleans.

Tupelo National Battlefield (Tupelo)

In the spring of 1864, Major General William Sherman prepared his army to take Atlanta and susequently "march to the sea". A primary concern of Sherman's was Major General Nathan Forrest's Confederate corp of mounted infantry roving the mid-South. Sherman ordered several advances from Federally controlled Memphis into north Mississippi for the purpose of keeping Forrest in Mississippi and not behind Sherman, cutting communication and supply lines.

Vicksburg National Military Park (Vicksburg)

Welcome to the Vicksburg National Military Park website. Please click the "In Depth" link at right for detailed information about the park, including on-line tours, photographs, historical records, battles, state and regimental monuments, maps, educator's guide, and a variety of reference materials.

Grand Bay Reserve (Moss Point)

The Grand Bay Reserve is one of the most biologically productive estuarine ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico region, supporting several rare or endangered plant and animal species, numerous important marine fishery resources, diverse habitat types and important archaeological sites.The reserve is of major ecological significance because of its diverse range of habitats. It encompasses coastal bay, expansive saltwater marshes, maritime pine forest, pine savanna and pitcher plant bogs.

Coldwater River National Wildlife Refuge (Grenada)

The Coldwater National Wildlife Refuge is located in northwest Mississippi, 4 * miles south of the town of Crowder. Established in 2000, this small refuge consists of 2, 069 acres within an acquisition boundary of 16, 000 acres. The centerpiece of the refuge is 25 old catfish ponds ranging in size from 9 to 21 acres and totaling 495 acres. These ponds are intensively managed for migrating waterfowl, shorebirds and wading birds.

Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail (Tupelo)

There is currently 63 miles of the Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail open for use in four areas along the Natchez Trace Parkway. At the northern end of the Parkway there is 24 miles of trail within the Leipers Fork district, near Franklin, Tennessee, extending from the Garrison Creek parking area (milepost 427.6), south to Tennessee Highway 50 (milepost 408).

Panther Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (Yazoo City, MS 39194)

Panther Swamp NWR, established in 1978, with over 38, 500 acres, contains one of the few remaining large tracts of mature bottomland hardwoods in the delta of Mississippi. Much of the habitat is subject to flooding on an annual basis. The refuge has a number of bayous that slowly drain flood waters, leaving shallow swamps and oxbow lakes which support stands of tupelo gum, cypress, buttonbush, and other species tolerant to extremely wet habitats.

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