Free & Cheap Things to Do in Jackson

History & Culture

One of the most powerful civil rights museums in America, with eight immersive galleries telling the story of Mississippi's civil rights movement through personal stories, artifacts, and multimedia exhibits. Admission is free every Sunday — an incredible value for what many consider a must-see American museum.

Address: 222 North St, Jackson, MS 39201

Tip: Visit on a Sunday for free admission. Plan at least 2 hours — the galleries are detailed and deeply moving. Located next to the Museum of Mississippi History, which shares the same free Sunday policy.

Arts & Culture

A surprisingly excellent natural science museum with 73,000-gallon aquariums, live native wildlife, and exhibits covering Mississippi's rich ecosystems from the Delta to the Gulf Coast. One of the most affordable and well-curated state natural history museums in the South.

Address: 2148 Riverside Dr, Jackson, MS 39202

Tip: The aquarium galleries and live reptile exhibits are the highlights. Open Monday–Friday 8am–5pm, Saturday 9am–5pm, Sunday 1–5pm. Easy to combine with a walk in the adjacent LeFleur's Bluff State Park.

Arts & Culture

Jackson's hippest neighborhood is completely free to wander — a tree-lined historic district packed with public murals, sculptures, indie boutiques, galleries, and live music venues. The Fondren Yard features green space, lawn games, and a performance stage hosting regular free events. A great way to experience Jackson's creative side at no cost.

Address: Fondren District, Jackson, MS 39216

Tip: Check the events calendar at visitjackson.com — free concerts, art openings, and film screenings happen regularly. The neighborhood is most lively on weekend evenings.

Historic Sites

Mississippi's 1839 Greek Revival former capitol building, now a free museum tracing the state's political history through the rooms where the 1861 Ordinance of Secession was passed and the 1890 constitution drafted. National Historic Landmark with a rotunda dome you can stand under and original House and Senate chambers preserved.

Address: 100 S State St, Jackson, MS 39201

Tip: Open Wednesday–Friday 9am–1pm only — short window, plan your day around it. Free street parking on State Street, or pair with the also-free Mississippi Civil Rights Museum two blocks south on the same morning.

Historic Sites

The 1842 Greek Revival mansion that has housed every Mississippi governor since the Polk administration — a National Historic Landmark in continuous residential use, with free 30-minute guided tours of the historic state rooms three mornings a week by reservation. One of only two governor's mansions on the National Historic Landmark list.

Address: 300 E Capitol St, Jackson, MS 39201

Tip: Tours run Tue/Wed/Thu at 9:30, 10:00, and 10:30am — call 601-359-6421 at least 72 hours ahead to reserve. No public restrooms on site. Free street parking on East Capitol; security check at entry, leave bags small.

History & Culture

The 1956 ranch home of Civil Rights leader Medgar Evers and his wife Myrlie, where Evers was assassinated by a Klan member in his driveway on June 12, 1963. Designated a National Monument in 2020 and now a National Park Service site preserving the home as it was, with the bullet hole still visible on the wall behind the front door.

Address: 2332 Margaret Walker Alexander Dr, Jackson, MS 39213

Tip: Myrlie's Garden and the educational pavilion are open sunrise to sunset for free, no reservation. Interior house tours are limited and require advance booking — call 601-345-7211. Active residential neighborhood: park in the four marked spots, no street noise.

Historic Sites

The 1925 Tudor Revival home Pulitzer Prize-winning Mississippi writer Eudora Welty lived in for 76 years, preserved exactly as she left it in 2001. Tours walk through her living room, her writing desk by the upstairs window, and 8,000+ books shelved throughout the house. The 1.6-acre garden her mother planted in 1925 is free to walk year-round.

Address: 1119 Pinehurst St, Jackson, MS 39202

Tip: House tours given Tuesday–Friday at 9, 11, 1, and 3, plus Saturday at 1 and 3 — reserve ahead. Visit the garden alone for free anytime the visitor center is open (Tue–Fri 8:30am–4pm, Sat 12:30–4pm). The 13th-of-the-month free admission is the budget special.

Parks & Nature

A 305-acre urban state park inside Jackson with an 18-hole disc golf course, a 50-acre lake, picnic shelters, hiking trails, and one of the largest playgrounds in the Southeast (the LeFleur's Bluff Destination Playground). Also home to the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science and the Mississippi Children's Museum.

Address: 2140 Riverside Dr, Jackson, MS 39202

Tip: Open daily 8am–5pm. The destination playground alone is worth the $2; bring a frisbee for the disc golf. Pair the natural science museum ($9) inside the park with an afternoon on the lake — both fit easily in one $11/adult day.

Arts & Culture

The state's largest art museum, free to visit, with a strong permanent collection of Mississippi and American art, a sculpture garden, and 'The Art Garden' green space that hosts free outdoor events. Rotating Barksdale Gallery exhibitions are ticketed, but the heart of the museum costs nothing.

Address: 380 S Lamar St, Jackson, MS 39201

Tip: The permanent collection is always free; only special exhibitions are ticketed ($10-15). K-12 students are free Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Free First Saturdays open everything. Downtown, near the Two Mississippi Museums.

History & Culture

One half of the 'Two Mississippi Museums' complex (sharing a lobby with the Civil Rights Museum), this sweeping state-history museum traces 15,000 years from the first peoples through statehood, the Civil War, and the modern era across immersive, artifact-rich galleries.

Address: 222 North St, Jackson, MS 39201

Tip: Free every Sunday — the best budget window, and your ticket also covers the adjoining Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Under-3s free. Allow two-plus hours for both museums together.

Family & Kids

A bright, hands-on museum near LeFleur's Bluff with five galleries on health, history, the arts, science, and literacy, plus a literacy-themed climbing tower and an outdoor 'Literacy Garden.' Built for kids up to about 10, it's a reliable, affordable few hours.

Address: 2145 Museum Blvd, Jackson, MS 39202

Tip: Closed Mondays in the off-season. The outdoor garden is included — wear play clothes. Across from the Natural Science Museum and LeFleur's Bluff, so stack all three.

History & Culture

A 40-acre living-history complex recreating an early-1900s Mississippi crossroads town and working farmstead, with a general store, cotton gin, sawmill, schoolhouse, and farm animals. The National Agricultural Aviation Museum and a nature trail round out an affordable, kid-friendly outdoor day.

Address: 1150 Lakeland Dr, Jackson, MS 39216

Tip: Open Monday-Saturday 9am-5pm. The recreated 'Small Town, 1920' and the farm animals are the highlights for kids. Allow 1-2 hours; lots of walking outdoors.