January 14, 2025

Riverside Park Nature Trail is located within LeFleur’s Bluff State Park and is now a collection of smaller trails which, taken together, form a two-ish mile out-and-back simply called “Nature Trail.” It’s a nice walk in the woods leading to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science and some outdoor dinosaur sculptures. There are river views off the main trail and cypress swamp views on the short loops by the museum. Egrets look like decorations as they perch on branches over water.

The Mississippi Petrified Forest is the only petrified forest in the eastern half of the United States and is a sizable scattering of petrified logs throughout a nice-sized conservation area. Privately owned, the land contains a walking path so you can see the logs up close and exactly as nature left them. The trees are sequoia, maple, fir, spurge, and some extinct varieties, and they likely ended up here as driftwood via a prehistoric river. The path leads you through a little fossil museum before taking you to the exit. There’s a lot of information here, not just in the museum, but also in the eight-page trail guide. Highly recommend a visit. Just under $7 admission fee for adults. While there, pet Jasper the friendly cat.