Four of the Delta’s Best Hikes
The area around the charming Delta town of Cleveland is home to some of the best hikes in Mississippi
Dahomey Wildlife Refuge, Cleveland, Mississippi
Located just west of Cleveland, Mississippi, Dahomey Wildlife Refuge has approximately 15 miles of maintained and rustic trails, a butterfly garden, a viewing tower that looks over a natural bayou, and a fishing pier within its nearly 10,000 acre area. It is the largest block of natural forest in Northwest Mississippi and is great for at least a half-day of hiking. The refuge offers visitors the ability to view native Mississippi Delta flora and fauna, such as cypress and cottonwood trees and owls, bobcats and waterfowl in their natural state.
Great River Road State Park, Rosedale, Mississippi
With one of the largest stretches of publically accessible riverfront on the Mississippi River, Great River Road State Park, located just 20 minutes from Cleveland, Mississippi in the historic riverfront city of Rosedale, offers visitors a chance to experience America’s greatest river in its natural state. Currently in a process of redevelopment, the park will offer hikes along the banks of the Mississippi River, around an old Oxbow Lake, and through native forests. In the summer months, when the water levels drop, an incredible 6 square mile sandbar is accessible and makes for a unique hiking experience.
Leflore Trail at Malmaison, Grenada, Mississippi
The Leflore Trail is a three-mile hike located in the Malmaison National Wildlife Management Area. There is a lot of history found along this trail with a combination of both human and natural history. The hike meanders through the Loess Hills on the edge of the Delta, where the vistas, especially at sunset, are otherworldly. In addition, trail hikers will pass by an historic cemetery and the homesite of Jackson Leflore, an early settler. The scenery is quite attractive with wooded hills all around and a pecan grove near the end of the loop.
Tallahatchie Wildlife Refuge
Established in 1990 and consisting of 4,083 acres on the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta, the Tallahatchie National Wildlife Refuge is a birder’s paradise made up of scattered hardwood bottomland forests bisected by the meandering Tippo Bayou, which is its centerpiece. The old oxbows and low-lying fields along Tippo Bayou flood each winter and attract large concentrations of waterfowl. Wood ducks abound here.Peregrine falcon, bald eagles, merlin, least tern, black tern and wood stork occasionally pass through the refuge in migration. Eastern screech owls, barred owls, great horned owls, loggerhead shrikes, and red-tailed hawks are common year-round residents. Blue grosbeaks, dickcissels, and painted buntings can be seen during the summer months. The refuge is complemented on the south by the 9,483-acre Malmaison Wildlife Management Area mentioned earlier in this post.