Tishomingo State Park
Encyclopedia
Tishomingo State Park is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
in Tishomingo County, Mississippi
Tishomingo County, Mississippi
As of the census of 2000 there were 19,163 people, 7,917 households, and 5,573 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 9,553 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...
, north of Tupelo
Tupelo, Mississippi
Tupelo is the largest city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. It is the seventh largest city in the state of Mississippi, smaller than Meridian, and larger than Greenville. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city's population was 34,211...
. Activities in the park include canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
, rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
and hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
.
Tishomingo's landscape of massive rock formations and fern-filled crevices is found nowhere else in Mississippi. Huge moss-covered boulders dot the hillsides, and colorful wildflowers border old Indian trails. Archaeological excavations suggest the presence of Paleo Indians in the area of the park as early as 7000 BCE.
The park was constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
during the 1930s. Many of the original buildings are still standing. The park is named for an early leader of the Chickasaw
Chickasaw
The Chickasaw are Native American people originally from the region that would become the Southeastern United States...
nation, Chief Tishomingo
Chief Tishomingo
Chief Tishomingo was one of the last full-blooded Chickasaw Chiefs. Tishomingo was born in approximately 1734 in what is now Lee County, Mississippi. He served with General Anthony Wayne against Shawnee Native Americans in the Northwest Territory and received a silver medal from president George...
.
Tishomingo Park offers visitors seven hiking trails that range in length from ¾ to 3 miles and in difficulty from easy to moderate. The trails feature beautiful scenery, including natural springs, waterfalls and huge rock outcroppings. Bear Creek is encountered at a number of points by the trail system, and can itself be explored by canoe on one of the float trips offered at the park. Three popular disc golf courses are available, as is a variety of camping and lodging facilities.
The Natchez Trace Parkway
Natchez Trace Parkway
The Natchez Trace Parkway is a National Park Service unit in the southeastern United States that commemorates the historic Old Natchez Trace and preserves sections of the original trail....
, a scenic road operated by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
and commemorating the historic Natchez Trace
Natchez Trace
The Natchez Trace, also known as the "Old Natchez Trace", is a historical path that extends roughly from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, linking the Cumberland, Tennessee and Mississippi rivers...
, runs directly through the park.
Nearby Tishomingo County, Mississippi
Tishomingo County, Mississippi
As of the census of 2000 there were 19,163 people, 7,917 households, and 5,573 families residing in the county. The population density was 45 people per square mile . There were 9,553 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...
attractions include the popular skiing and boating destination Bay Springs Lake
Bay Springs Lake
Bay Springs Lake is a reservoir on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterwayin the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is impounded by the Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam. The lake is approximately nine miles long, between waterway mile markers 412 at the dam, and 421 near the entrance to the divide cut....
, Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam
Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam
The Jamie Whitten Lock and Dam is part of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway . It is located at in south Tishomingo County, Mississippi, close to the Prentiss County line....
, Woodall Mountain
Woodall Mountain
Woodall Mountain is the highest natural point in the state of Mississippi at 807 feet . It is located just off Mississippi Highway 25, south of Iuka. The summit is marked with a National Geodetic Survey triangulation station disk and three radio towers...
, J.P. Coleman State Park
J.P. Coleman State Park
J.P. Coleman State Park is a state park in the U.S. state of Mississippi. It is located north of Iuka off Mississippi Highway 25. It sits along the banks of the Tennessee River and Pickwick Lake. The park is named for James P. Coleman, a former governor of Mississippi.Activities include sailing,...
and Pickwick Lake
Pickwick Lake
Pickwick Lake is the reservoir created by Pickwick Landing Dam as part of the Tennessee Valley Authority. The lake stretches from Pickwick Landing Dam to Wilson Dam....
.