Natchez Activities

There are several outdoor activities at Melrose that require no fee. Upon arrival please begin at the Melrose Visitor Center where you'll find maps and information. Visitors can stroll the grounds and visit the historic outbuildings, birdwatch, and relax in the formal gardens.

Guided tours of the Melrose mansion house are offered every hour beginning at 9:00 a.m. Please arrive a few minutes early to give yourself time to purchase tickets at the visitors' center on the property. The last tour begins at 4:00 p.m. Each tour lasts approrximately 45 minutes. There is wheelchair accessibility to the first floor of the home.
Tours are limited to 20 people, although special arrangements can be made if a larger group is wanting to see the home. If you plan on bringing a tour group to the park, please contact us in advance.

Melrose ticket prices are as follows:
Adult (ages 17-61) $8
Senior (62 and older) $4
Children (ages 6-17) $4
Children under 6 Free
Tours of the William Johnson House are free of charge. Though the tour of the house is self-guided, a park ranger is available to answer questions.

Nearby Attractions
Mississippi is home to a number of areas operated by the National Park Service. Travel the route of the Natchez Trace Parkway and imagine the experiences of those that have traveled before you. The 444-mile Parkway commemorates an ancient trail that connected southern portions of the Mississippi River to salt licks in today's central Tennessee. Over the centuries, the Choctaw, Chickasaw and other American Indians left their marks on the Trace. The Natchez Trace experienced its heaviest use from 1785 to 1820 by the "Kaintuck" boatmen that floated the Ohio and Miss. rivers to markets in Natchez and New Orleans. They sold their cargo and boats and began the trek back north on foot to Nashville and points beyond. Today, visitors can experience this National Scenic Byway and All-American Road through driving, hiking, biking, horseback riding and camping.

Vicksburg National Military Park is located approximately 70 miles north of Natchez. The Vicksburg campaign was waged from March 29 to July 4, 1863. It included battles in west-central Mississippi at Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hill, Big Black River and 47 days of Union siege operations against Confederate forces defending the city of Vicksburg. Located high on the bluffs, Vicksburg was a fortress guarding the Mississippi River. It was known as "The Gibraltar of the Confederacy." Its surrender on July 4, 1863, coupled with the fall of Port Hudson, Louisiana, divided the South, and gave the North undisputed control of the Mississippi River.
Today, the battlefield at Vicksburg is in an excellent state of preservation. It includes 1,325 historic monuments and markers, 20 miles of reconstructed trenches and earthworks, a 16 mile tour road, antebellum home, 144 emplaced cannon, restored Union gunboat-USS Cairo, and the Vicksburg National Cemetery.