Hinds: Nature Trails, Museums and History

Hinds offers travelers a variety of ways to experience nature, history and culture. You can explore trails through forests and wetlands, visit museums with a wide range of themes, or discover historic sites. Options range from a spacious city park and a trail network along the Pearl River to exhibits on Mississippi history, sports and African American life.

Nature Trails and Outdoor Activities

The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science is located in a 300-acre natural area and includes a 73,000-square-foot building with lifelike displays and living species. Outside, 2.5 miles of trails wind through several habitats, from higher ground to the swamp and the Pearl River. There is also a permanent outdoor dinosaur trail. Nature exhibits and trails through different landscapes are found side by side here.

LeFleur's Bluff State Park is a 305-acre city park. Amenities include campsites, fishing and picnic areas, as well as nature trails and an 18-hole disc golf course. The Museum Trail offers a different kind of route: This approximately 3-mile paved, multi-use trail connects the state park, the museum district, Belhaven and the Mississippi Farmers Market. It is intended for pedestrians and non-motorized users, including walkers, runners and cyclists.

At the Clinton Community Nature Center, 2.3 miles of shaded gravel trails wind through a native forest, with occasional wooden bridges and boardwalks. The trail network covers 2.5 miles, including 0.4 miles of the historic Natchez Trace and the site of the 1872 Sumner Hill School, considered the first public school for African Americans in Hinds County. Unlike the paved Museum Trail, the nature center offers forest paths and historic trail traces rather than a route connecting several named destinations.

Museums, Sports and African American History

The Museum of Mississippi History explores the state's history from prehistoric times to the present across eight main galleries. In the Reflections Gallery, visitors can record their own memories of Mississippi in a private video booth. The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum offers a different thematic perspective, honoring more than 300 athletes, coaches and influential sports figures with ties to Mississippi. A self-guided experience explores sports history through archival game footage, interviews and statistics.

The Smith Robertson Museum preserves and shares African American history and culture through exhibits, programs and educational offerings. Its permanent exhibits include Field to Factory: The Afro-American Migration, 1915-1940 and a Civil Rights Gallery; exhibits may change. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum offers street parking on North Street, as well as a parking garage accessible from Jefferson Street between Amite Street and Mississippi Street. The garage has accessible parking spaces. Since parking options may change, check the latest visitor information before traveling.

Gardens, Local Products and Sites in Raymond

The Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art is free and open to all visitors. Features include seasonal plantings, beds of native plants, permanent art installations and water features; garden programs may change. The Eudora Welty Garden is one of only two public botanical gardens in Mississippi. During visitor hours, you can take a free, self-guided walk there. Check opening hours before you visit.

The Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson covers 40 acres and offers hands-on educational activities for the whole family. The Museum General Store carries local Mississippi products, including Mississippi Bees Honey, Pennington Farms Honey, Hillside Vineyards Jelly and Jams, and Mississippi Cheese Straws. The selection may change. In Raymond, the Hinds County Courthouse was built between 1857 and 1859; it is an example of impressive Greek Revival architecture. The Battle of Raymond stop on the Natchez Trace Parkway, at milepost 78.3, explains the route's detour toward Raymond during Grant's 1863 campaign.

Interactive Experiences at the Mississippi Children's Museum

At the Mississippi Children's Museum, Wonderbox is a state-of-the-art makerspace. The Exploring Mississippi area lets children search for fossils, steer a shrimp boat, explore the wild pine forests and go fishing. The Literacy Garden features a large treehouse, oversized pink story mushrooms and a sunken amphitheater. In The World at Work gallery, children can milk a cow, drive a real car and operate a large crane. Exhibit descriptions may change.

Discover more destinations: Byram, Clinton, Jackson, Marshall, Kemper County, Issaquena County, Lowndes County, Washington County.

For the full travel overview: Mississippi.