Free & Cheap Things to Do in Natchez

Parks & Nature

A free riverside park perched dramatically above the Mississippi River, offering some of the most stunning views of the great river anywhere along its 2,300-mile length. A smooth promenade with benches, free binoculars, and historic storyboards make this the perfect place to take in the scale of the Mississippi at sunset.

Address: Canal St, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: Sunset views here are extraordinary — arrive 30 minutes before dusk for the best light. The park connects directly to the Natchez Visitor Center and the Under-the-Hill waterfront historic district below.

History & Culture

A free National Park unit preserving the stories of Natchez's complex history — from the Natchez people to the antebellum plantation era. The park grounds and visitor center are free to explore, with exhibits on the lives of enslaved people, Native Americans, and early American settlers. Optional guided mansion tours are available for a small fee.

Address: 1 Melrose-Montebello Pkwy, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: The free visitor center is an excellent starting point with films and exhibits before exploring the grounds. The guided mansion tour at Melrose Estate is well worth the $11 for history buffs — book ahead at recreation.gov.

Outdoors

A free, federally protected 444-mile scenic road and trail corridor following one of America's oldest travel routes — used for centuries by Native Americans, early explorers, and settlers. The southern terminus begins right in Natchez, and even a short drive or walk along the Trace reveals ancient mounds, forest trails, and historical markers with no entrance fee ever.

Address: Natchez Trace Pkwy, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: Stop at Mount Locust — the only remaining stand on the old Trace, with free guided ranger talks in season. The parkway is open year-round, 24/7, with no tolls or admission fees.

History & Culture

Memorial site of the second-largest slave market in the antebellum United States, where tens of thousands of enslaved people were bought and sold between 1833 and 1863. Free-standing wayside exhibits, a concrete sculpture of broken chains, and interpretive panels confront one of the country's most painful chapters. Added to Natchez National Historical Park in 2021 — small, sober, and essential.

Address: Liberty Road & Saint Catherine Street, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: Plan 30-45 minutes to read all the panels. Pair with the William Johnson House and Melrose (both already covered by Natchez NHP) for a fuller picture of Black history in Natchez. Free parking on site.

History & Cemeteries

Established in 1822 on a hundred acres overlooking the Mississippi River, the city cemetery is one of the most atmospheric in the South — Spanish moss, broken-column monuments, and the famous Turning Angel statue, which appears to rotate as headlights sweep past on Cemetery Road. Buried here are governors, Confederate and Union soldiers, river-pilots, and the five young women whose 1908 deaths in a drugstore explosion the Angel was carved to commemorate.

Address: 2 Cemetery Road, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: Open 7 a.m. to dusk. Pick up a free self-guided tour CD or map at the Shelter House (cemetery office) or downtown visitor center. Don't miss the Turning Angel — best viewed at dusk when headlights catch the marble.

History & Culture

A 128-acre site preserving three reconstructed prehistoric Native American mounds that served as the main ceremonial center of the Natchez people from roughly 1200 to 1729 CE. The free museum and visitor center display artifacts excavated from the mounds, and a self-guided nature trail loops through the grounds with interpretive signage.

Address: 400 Jefferson Davis Boulevard, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: Open Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 1:30-5 p.m. Free parking. Plan an hour for the museum plus the quarter-mile interpretive trail to the mounds. Operated by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Historic Districts

The 19th-century river-port quarter at the foot of Silver Street, where keelboat crews, gamblers, and traders once made one of the rowdiest landings on the Mississippi. Today, the surviving brick storefronts house casual restaurants, bars, and shops — but the cobbled streets, river views, and the Mississippi River bridge against the sunset are reason enough to walk down the bluff at golden hour.

Address: Silver Street, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: Walk down (or drive) Silver Street from the top of the bluff. Sunset over the river is the marquee experience — settle on a porch with a drink. Watch for steamboats docking in season.

Historic Sites

The second-largest Native American ceremonial mound in the United States, after Cahokia in Illinois — 35 feet high, covering eight acres at the base. Built by ancestors of the Natchez people between 1250 and 1600 CE and used as a ceremonial center, the mound is a National Historic Landmark managed by the Park Service. A short trail and stairway lead to the flat summit, where you can stand on what was once the platform for a chief's temple.

Address: Mount Locust Road at MP 10.3, Natchez Trace Parkway, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: Open sunrise to sunset year-round, no fee. About 12 miles north of downtown — a short detour off the Natchez Trace Parkway. Pair with Mount Locust (mile 15.5) for a half-day on the Trace.

History & Architecture

The oldest Catholic building still in use in Mississippi, dedicated in 1843 and elevated to a minor basilica in 1999. The Gothic Revival exterior is striking, but the interior is the showstopper — three Italian marble altars, vivid stained-glass windows from the 1880s and 1890s, and a hushed nave that feels much older than its actual age.

Address: 107 South Union Street, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: Visitors are welcome to step inside outside of mass times — check the parish schedule on the website. The adjacent city park is a quiet picnic spot. Donations appreciated for the preservation fund.

Historic Sites

The only one of more than 40 inns (or 'stands') that once lined the Old Natchez Trace still standing — built in 1780 and used by Mississippi River boatmen walking home after floating cargo down to Natchez or New Orleans. The restored house, grounds, and a cemetery for the 43 enslaved people who lived and worked here are all open to visitors, with NPS rangers on site to interpret the site.

Address: MP 15.5, Natchez Trace Parkway, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: Open Thursday-Sunday only, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (closed Mon-Wed). About 15 miles up the Trace from Natchez — combine with Emerald Mound (MP 10.3) for an easy half-day loop.

History & Culture

A free National Park Service site preserving the 1841 home of William Johnson, the 'Barber of Natchez' — a free Black businessman whose remarkable 16-year diary chronicles daily life in the antebellum South. Exhibits illuminate the complex world of free African Americans before the Civil War.

Address: 210 State St, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: Free; open Monday-Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday noon-5pm. Part of Natchez National Historical Park, a short walk from the bluff and downtown. Allow about 45 minutes.

History & Culture

A National Historic Landmark on the Natchez bluff, completed in 1823, whose symmetrical, columned design became the prototype for antebellum mansions across the South. It served as Union Army headquarters during the occupation of Natchez and keeps a notable collection of period furnishings.

Address: 100 Orleans St, Natchez, MS 39120

Tip: Guided tours run hourly 9am-4pm (around $20); the riverfront gardens are a free bonus view. Owned by the Mississippi DAR. Call about holiday hours. Pair with the free Bluff Park nearby.