MISSISSIPPI - Accessible Nature

Mississippi has some trails with minimal obstacles. Some are very easy and others are wheelchair accessible. Here are a few of them.
The links given were found through Internet search. I have found references to many trails in Mississippi, which sound easy, especially those that are primarily boardwalks. However, I don’t feel comfortable listing them without some first-hand accounts. Wheelchair accessibility is seldom mentioned. Please let me know of easy or accessible trails you know of personally. With your help, we can share our knowledge with disabled people everywhere and also increase awareness of the need for more accessibility. Please e-mail me with your suggestions using the form in the sidebar.

Federal
State
Local
Private
Miscellaneous

Federal

Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge
The Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge has an accessible trail and an easy birding trail. The refuge lies in both Mississippi and Alabama and is part of the Gulf Coast Complex. Here is the refuge’s website.
The Oak Grove Birding Trail is just off Bayou Heron Road, south of the headquarters building. Here is a description and photographs from MathProfHiker’s Hiking Blog, which states the trail is “0.5 miles flat and easy miles.” The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve’s website describes the habitat as “maritime, mixed hardwood forest intermingled with pines that slope down towards the marshes that border the upper reaches of Bayou Heron. ”
The Escatawpa Trail system is part boardwalk and part gravel. 3 options are available, including a boardwalk/gravel loop that is “fully accessible for visitors”. Several benches are available along the trail as well as an overlook at the Escatawpa River. Mathprofhiker’s Hiking Blog suggests you hike it in the dry season lest you end up wading as he did. Here is a description from Travels with Emma, another useful blog.
Brochure & Map Phone 228-475-0765

Know more about Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge?
Have you visited this location and know of more accessible or easy trails? Is any of the information given here incorrect? If so, please contact me using the form to the left and let me know what should be changed or added so I can update this post.
Gulf Islands National Seashore.
The hurricanes of 2017 may have done considerable damage to these areas. Call before going. Phone 850-934-2600
The islands in the northern Gulf of Mexico offer white sandy beaches and aquamarine waters. Come for boating, camping exploring an old fort or to fish.
“Visitors can plan their trip to either the Florida District or to the Mississippi District. Each district provides recreation, barrier islands, salt marshes, historic structures and wildlife along the Gulf of Mexico.” Accessibility Loaner wheelchairs are available in both districts. Here is their website.
Florida:
“Perdido Key Discovery Trail and six beach cross-over boardwalks (two to sound; four to Gulf) are wheelchair accessible.” call 850-934-2600 for more information. Fort Pickens fishing pier is accessible.
Naval Live Oaks The first loop of the 0.8 mile Breckenridge Trail is an “accessible boardwalk with tactile waysides.”
Mississippi:
The Davis Bayou Trail takes visitors through a coastal forest and over two local bayous. The trail is approximately two miles long. AllTrails describes it as “good for all skill levels.”
The short boardwalk over Stark Bayou is the only part of the trail that is wheelchair accessible.
“Boardwalk trails, campsites and fishing pier are accessible.” For information call Davis Bayou Visitor center at 228-875-9057.
Hillside National Wildlife Refuge
Hillside NWR ‘diverse habitats support hundreds of wildlife species. The dominant habitats are hardwood forest bottomlands with oaks and cottonwood trees in the higher elevations, and willow, bald cypress and tupelo sloughs or “brakes” in lower elevations.
Here is the Refuge website . Phone 662-235-4989 Map
The Alligator Slough Nature Trail is a 0.6 mile accessible nature trail that “meanders through a bottomland hardwood forest with a bald cypress and water tupelo slough accessed from the South Levee Road. “
Holly Springs National Forest
Holly Springs National Forest in northern Mississippi is described as a “…public treasure of sparkling small lakes nestled among the lovely greens of upland hardwoods, pine forests, and unique bottomlands.” Here is the Forest website. Phone 662-236-6550
? Chewalla Lake Recreation Area Trail. I am guessing here, but from the description and photos, this looks to be an easy trail. Call first to be sure of its difficulty and conditions.
Homochitto National Forest
The Homochitto National Forest was named for the Homochitto River, a Native American name for the “Big Red River.” Here is the Forest website. Phone 601-384-5876. The Forest contains the Clear Springs Recreation Area. Map
Clear Springs Nature Trail is a one mile loop with a wooden boardwalk through a cypress/Tupelo gum bottomland swamp near Roxie described by AllTrails as “good for all skill levels.”
Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge
The Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in extreme southeast Mississippi, is part of the Gulf Coast Refuge Complex, which includes Grand Bay NWR and Bon Secour NWR. The refuge was established “to protect the critically endangered Mississippi sandhill cranes and their unique, and itself endangered, wet pine savanna habitat. ” “… here, a rich, colorful blend of rare orchids, carnivorous plants and other ground cover thrive under the scattered pines in one of the most species-rich plant communities in North America.
The refuge has two trails. The folks there were kind enough to reply to my query: “Both trails would be classified as easy hikes due to length (both under one mile) and gain in elevation. Both trails also have benches located along the route, so visitors may stop and rest during their walk. Unfortunately, the trails are not accessible for wheelchairs, though we have had school groups with students in wheelchairs (both motorized and non motorized) complete the C.L. Dees trail with assistance from their instructors. ” The refuge reviewed on Trip Advisor Here is the Refuge website. Phone 228-497-6322
C. L. Dees Nature Trail Map

Fontainebleau Trail Reviewed on AllTrails
Saint Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge
Saint Catherine Creek refuge is a 24,589-acre refuge located in southwest Mississippi. It “contains a diverse array of habitat types consisting of bottomland hardwoods, cypress swamps, upland hardwoods on the loess [a type of sediment] bluffs.”Here is their website. Phone 601-442 6696 Map Brochure
Magnolia Trail, a National Recreation Trail, is 8.3 miles of trails that are “a great hiking and learning experience for visitors of all ages. The trails pass through a diversity of southwest Mississippi habitats, including loess bluff hills and native wetlands. Highlights include a cypress overlook, observation deck, and photography blind. Benches along the trail provide opportunities to rest and watch wildlife. ” Map
Cabin Road Hiking Trail is an ATV trail used by hunters during designated refuge hunts. Off-road vehicle are only allowed on the trail at that time. that is also frequented by hikers. The 2.2 mile trail “runs along the base of the loess bluffs and through a variety of habitats, including a cypress swamp. This trail is flat and accessible to all abilities.” Better call to be sure this trail is suitable for your wheelchair, if you use one.
There is a 3 mile nature trail which, according to the kind person who replied to my query, varies in difficulty: “The lower section of the trail (South Trailhead) would be better suited for elderly hikers, as there is a .5 mile section (trailhead to photo blind/rookery) that is flat terrain, with one hill that has a gradual incline. If hikers went to the photoblind/rookery it would be an approximate 1 mile hike roundtrip. Along the way there is a cypress overlook, open fields for viewing wildlife, benches, a small water impoundment and a small rookery, which has an enclosed photoblind. Be aware that critters can make their way into the photoblinds, so depending on the season, check carefully for wasps, spiders and potentially snakes before entering blinds. The surface of the trail is limestone rock, so wheelchairs should also have little to no difficulty with this section of the trail.”
Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge
Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) is over 48,000 acres located in Noxubee, Oktibbeha, and Winston Counties. Habitats provided at the refuge include bottomland hardwood forest communities, green-tree reservoirs, two lakes, 16 small impoundments, and assorted wetland areas. “The endangered red-cockaded woodpecker relies on the refuge for its existence in east-central Mississippi.”
Here is the Refuge website. Phone 662-323-5548 Map
The refuge has 11 trails, 7 of them listed as “gentle”. Surfaces vary from native, gravel, boardwalk, and concrete. Here is a video about the refuge.
Bluff Lake Boardwalk is just under 1000′ long. It “winds through a cypress island at the edge of Bluff Lake. ” A good trail for observing birds.
Cypress Cove Recreational Boardwalk is a little over 500 feet in length and allows access to Bluff Lake for fishing, sightseeing, or birdwatching, or just a different view. “It takes the visitor into a cypress grove on the edge of Bluff Lake and into the domain of the alligators and water dwelling creatures.”
Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge
This refuge consists of 4,199 acres in Grenada and Tallahatchie Counties. “… the refuge’s largest unit is a patchwork of old fields and small scattered hardwood bottomland forests bisected by the meandering Tippo Bayou.” Here is the refuge website. Phone 662-226-8286 Map
There is a boardwalk north of Highway 8, about one mile down Mabus Road. “This walk takes visitors through a forested wetland and terminates at an observation tower where hikers can look out over a field of grass and see wildlife such as white-tailed deer…… Wood ducks, hooded mergansers, herons and egrets, water snakes, and turtles can often be seen in the wetlands surrounding the wooden walkway.” Call the Refuge Manager at 662-226-8286 to be sure there are no difficult stairs to access the boardwalk.
Tombigbee National Forest
The Tombigee National Forest in northeastern Mississippi is rolling hills of pine and hardwood forests intermingled with private farms and woodlots.Here is the Forest website. Phone 662-285-3264. The Forest includes the Choctaw Lake National Recreation Area (brochure) which has an accessible trail.
Lakeside Trail 2.5 miles described by Trails.com as “all accessible.”
Trails map

State

Here is an interactive map of all the state parks in Mississippi. There are links to a home page for each park with contact information. Amenities, including the existence of nature trails, are charted, but accessibility is not mentioned. I have attempted to use the State Parks contact form on their website, but it does not work. I suggest you call any of these parks to learn about accessibility. If you find a trail you really like, let me know!
This database of 42 nature trails in state parks from the Mississippi Division of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks links to a brief description of each trail with length and a phone number. Neither difficulty nor accessibility are described.
Outdoor Recreational Opportunities in Mississippi State Parks for Physically Challenged or Impaired Users Brochure This pamphlet lists accessible amenities for all of Mississippi’s twenty state parks.
LeFleur’s Bluff State Park
LeFleur’s Bluff State Park offers camping, fishing, picnic spots, and nature trails, as well as a nine-hole golf course and a driving range.
Park Website Map Park Office Phone (601) 987-3923
There is a 0.5 nature trail behind the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.
Percy Quin State Park
Percy Quin State Park’s “Loblolly pines and stately magnolia trees, rolling hills, spectacular seasonal flowers, and a year-round mild climate await visitors… The park is 1 1/2 hours from New Orleans.
Here is the Park’s website. Phone 601-684-3938
There is an an 2.1 mile nature trail described by AllTrails as “suitable for all skill levels”.

Local

Private

Pascagoula River Audubon Center The center has “short elevated boardwalks and trails from which visitors can view wetland and river habitats and wildlife…” Call 228-475-0825 for more information.

Miscellaneous

Longleaf Trace Trail is a 40 mile long paved National Recreation rail/trail from Hattiesburg to Prentiss. Parts of it go through forest and wetlands. Here is a description from EveryTrail. Directions for getting to the trail. Another description from Longleaftrace.org : “The Longleaf Trace is regularly maintained with parking, water, vending and restroom accommodations at each of its eight (8) trailhead stations spaced along the trail route. Sixteen (16) rest stops/overlooks are also provided along its route for user convenience and to enjoy the picturesque views of nature…”
Trail manager’s phone 601-450-5247 Here is TrailLink’s website.
The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy lists wheelchair accessible trails in Mississippi.
The Tuxachanie National Recreation Trail near the Gulf Coast, is a 22-mile hike through southern Mississippi’s Desoto National Forest. The trailhead is off US 49. The first 1/4 mile is hardpacked and wheelchair accessible although the website warns of a few roots. The first 5 miles follow an abandoned railroad and are probably easy walking. Here is TrailLink’s website.