Mississippi: Visit Roosevelt State Park for a Relaxing Time in a Beautiful Setting

Roosevelt State Park in Mississippi offers many outdoor activities in the wooded areas surrounding attractive Shadow Lake or on the lake. The activities range from boating, fishing, hiking, picnicking, swimming (with a water slide), playgrounds, disc golf, tennis and softball.

HIKING TRAILS

The park’s nature trail system is diverse with six relatively short options, ranging from less than a half-mile to two miles walks.

Lakeview (.5 mile)
Muscadine (.5 mile)
Rolling Hill (.3 mile)
Pinelane (.4 mile)
Civil War Hill (2 miles)
Beaver Dam (1.2 miles)

To access the trails, park near the Gate House or at one of the bathhouses in the north end of the park. You’ll see signs at the trailheads, but you should ask for a trail map at the Gate House or park office in the Alfreda-Harris Lodge to help you find them. We hiked the Lakeview and Muscadine trails and found them to be scenic and easy to walk because the inclines are gentle, and the surface of the trails aren’t as rocky as you would find when hiking in a mountainous area.

LODGING AND CAMPING

You’ll have many options if you plan an overnight stay. The park offers 109 RV campsites, primitive tent sites, 15 vacation cabins, motel, and a group camp facility. These facilities are in wooded areas with views of Shadow Lake.

DSC04871 (2).JPG — Performing Arts and Media Center

A unique park feature is the Livingston Performing Arts and Media Center, which seats 600. The Livingston Center is a great place for business conferences and seminars, school and church events, plays, pageants and ballet performances. It’s also ideal for musical programs and recording sessions.

Warning! Arla encounters a sign that leads her to believe that somebody could get in trouble with the ranger here.

ARLA’S SHOCKING MOMENT

After spotting the bold “Warning!” sign on our stroll around Roosevelt State Park, I immediately thought somebody could get into trouble with the ranger here, and it’s probably going to be Doug because he insists on taking campground photos at every park we visit. Sure enough, he said, “Don’t worry about it.” While we marched ahead, I pointed out that the warning came with a solution for us—a visitor pass. Doug shrugged and promised that we’d be done in five minutes. Fortunately, we weren’t apprehended by law enforcement, but I want to make it clear to the Roosevelt rangers that I entered the restricted zone against my will. If you see me on surveillance video, I’m sure you’ll notice that I pointed out the sign to my companions and advised them not to proceed.

Park visitors use the fishing pier on Shadow Lake.

LINDA’S TAKEAWAY

I enjoyed the relaxing, peaceful and beautiful setting of Roosevelt State Park. I also took note of the diversity of what the park offers to visitors. It appears to pull in many Mississippi residents who embrace the park’s serenity whether on a beach, boat or boardwalk. I found it relaxing to watch children and adults fishing, even though I didn’t get too close to fish flopping around in the air after being caught. I grew up in New Orleans watching my dad, grandfathers and brothers catch fish, but the sport never appealed to me. For many, it tends to be the main attraction at Roosevelt.

Boaters and water skiers find Lake Shadow to be Roosevelt State Park’s best feature.

DOUG’S HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHT

Roosevelt State Park was one of the original Mississippi state parks built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The CCC began work on Roosevelt in August 1935, and the park opened in April 1940. The CCC was a work relief program that gave millions of young men employment on conservation projects during the Great Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the CCC.

NATIONAL RANKINGS

Reserve America, a company that provides online campground reservations, has reviewed more than 4,000 state parks and campgrounds nationwide and published a list of the best. In these rankings, Roosevelt State Park was one of the leaders in the following categories: