Natchez National Historical Park - Melrose site
Managed by National Park Service
82 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lot
Rosalie · Photo: Elisa Rolle · CC BY-SA 3.0COutdoors
Outdoors in Natchez
Natchez has 157 acres of parks, 11 for every 1,000 residents
0.9 miles of mapped trail cross Natchez, 0.1 per square mile of land. 38% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of Natchez’s land is conserved, about 399 acres.
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns · #48 of 101 in Mississippi. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
399 acres · of 15.8 sq mi of land
Trails
0.9 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
157 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
38%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.4 mi
0.4 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
What kind of outdoors town is Natchez?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Natchez have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Natchez is ahead of 33% of U.S. towns, #48 of 101 in Mississippi. Conserved land holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
C
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Natchez’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical MS town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · MS 0.1 · U.S. 0.4C−Park land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (157 acres) · MS 8 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home38% of residents within a half mile of a park · MS 46% · U.S. 72%C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 33%
LessMore
Mississippi towns of 2,500+ (101)Ahead of 53%
Few Mississippi towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Natchez’s 4% is ahead of 62% of Mississippi towns, while its trails per square mile lead 26% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Natchez National Historical Park - Melrose site, with 0.4 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Liberty Ball Park
Managed by City Of Natchez
16 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Natchez Bluff Park & Natchez Trails
Managed by CIty of Natchez
12 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Natchez National Historical Park - Fort Rosalie
Managed by National Park Service
9 acres
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lot
All 5 parks & preserves
Natchez National Historical Park - Melrose site82 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsNatchez Bluff Park & Natchez Trails12 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · CIty of Natchez
DirectionsLiberty Ball Park16 acres · City Of Natchez
Natchez National Historical Park - Fort Rosalie9 acres · National Park Service
DirectionsMemorial Park2 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
399 conserved acres
4% of Natchez’s land. Who manages Natchez’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service342 ac
Town or city57 ac
Other or Unknown Federal Land19 ac
Special Designation Area · 226 acHistoric or Cultural Area · 97 acRecreation or Education Easement · 39 acLocal Recreation Area · 37 acLocal Park · 20 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 19 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natchez Trace Parkway Special Designation Area | National Park Service | 226 | Restricted |
| Natchez National Historical Park Historic or Cultural Area | National Park Service | 97 | Restricted |
| Duncan Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 20 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Liberty Ball Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Natchez Memorial Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
4 places to go in Natchez
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Natchez
Public Swiming PoolIn Liberty Ball Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Natchez
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Natchez
1 boat launch without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Natchez
1 picnic area without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 lakes & rivers
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.4 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.4 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Tennis
14Baseball
3Football
2Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →82 places on the National Register, 11 of them National Historic Landmarks
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 15 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
King's TavernBuilding · listed 1971
About it70 more on the History page.
When to get out
The best walking months in Natchez: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.3 | 11.0 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.7 | 14.2 | 14.0 | 13.3 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.5 | 10.1 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 63 | 71 | 77 | 84 | 90 | 92 | 92 | 88 | 79 | 69 | 61 |
| Rain (in) | 6.3 | 5.5 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 5.3 |
September is the driest month (3.8 in) and August the warmest (highs of 92 °F). 6.3 inches fall in January, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 92 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Natchez →
Questions about parks and trails in Natchez
Where can I hike in Natchez?
The longest trail networks: Natchez National Historical Park - Melrose site, 0.4 miles; Natchez Bluff Park & Natchez Trails, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Natchez is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Mississippi town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Natchez’s trails?
Natchez National Historical Park - Melrose site and Liberty Ball Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Natchez?
0.4 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.4 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Natchez?
4,104 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Natchez or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 157 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Natchez have?
Ahead of 33% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #48 of 101 in Mississippi. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Natchez neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →