Free & Cheap Things to Do in Vicksburg

Memorials & History

The 1,800-acre battlefield where Grant's 47-day siege from May to July 1863 sealed the Mississippi River for the Union and split the Confederacy in two. A 16-mile driving tour passes 1,300+ state monuments, Union and Confederate fortifications, period artillery, and the restored ironclad USS Cairo — making this one of the most monument-dense battlefields in the National Park system.

Address: 3201 Clay St, Vicksburg, MS 39183

Tip: Tour road opens at 8:30 a.m. daily. The single 7-day vehicle pass covers the USS Cairo and Vicksburg National Cemetery too — there's no separate fee for either inside the park. The park is cashless: credit/debit only. America the Beautiful passholders enter free. Free entrance days in 2026 include Memorial Day, July 3–5, and Veterans Day.

Museums & Galleries

The salvaged hull of the USS Cairo, one of seven City-class ironclads commissioned in 1862 and the first armored warship in history sunk by an electrically-detonated mine — she went down in 12 minutes on the Yazoo River in December 1862 with no loss of life. Raised from the riverbed in 1964 and now displayed under a canopy along the NMP tour road, with the adjacent indoor museum holding hundreds of recovered artifacts.

Address: Inside Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg, MS 39183

Tip: Visitors can walk onto the deck of the ironclad itself, which is rare for a Civil War warship — the canopy structure protects the timber from weather. The museum's collection of sailors' personal gear (boots, eyeglasses, playing cards) is what most people remember; budget at least an hour here separately from the rest of the park drive.

Historic Sites

The largest Civil War burial ground in the nation — more than 17,000 Union servicemen are interred here, with 75% listed as unidentified. Established in 1866 to consolidate Union remains found between the Arkansas line and Grand Gulf, the cemetery closed to most new burials in 1961. It sits inside the National Military Park and is included with the park entrance pass.

Address: Inside Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg, MS 39183

Tip: Tour stop #8 on the park's 16-mile drive — it sits at the highest point in the park with views of the Yazoo Diversion Canal and the original Mississippi River channel. The visitor center has a free walk-tour brochure to locate specific graves; the office can also help with genealogy lookups.

Museums & Galleries

The 1858 Greek Revival courthouse that served Warren County until 1939 — Jefferson Davis, Grant, Booker T. Washington, Teddy Roosevelt, and McKinley all spoke from the building. Now a National Historic Landmark museum with one of the largest Civil War memorabilia collections in the South, including the tie Jefferson Davis wore at his inauguration and an original Teddy Bear given by Theodore Roosevelt to a Vicksburg child.

Address: 1008 Cherry St, Vicksburg, MS 39183

Tip: Open Monday through Saturday 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. and closed Sundays (the website notes Sunday closure as 'temporary'). The exterior of the building is what most visitors photograph — climb the hill on Cherry Street for the view that appears on every Vicksburg postcard. The Confederate flag that 'was never surrendered' is on the third floor.

Museums & Galleries

Free Army Corps of Engineers museum at the foot of Washington Street covering the geology, ecology, and engineering of the Lower Mississippi. The signature exhibit is the Motor Vessel Mississippi IV — a 1961 Corps towboat preserved dockside that visitors can tour bow to stern — plus a 1,500-gallon native aquarium, an outdoor flood-control model, and exhibits on the 1927 flood that reshaped Delta life.

Address: 910 Washington St, Vicksburg, MS 39180

Tip: Open Monday–Saturday 9 a.m.–4 p.m. and Sunday 1–4 p.m. The M/V Mississippi IV tour is the highlight — climb up to the pilothouse and check the captain's quarters. Closed Thanksgiving, the day after, Christmas Eve through New Year's Day. Free parking on Washington Street and free access to the rooftop overlook of the Mississippi.

Arts & Culture

Thirty-two photorealistic murals painted by Louisiana artist Robert Dafford along the Mississippi River floodwall, plus an opening abstract piece by Vicksburg's Martha Ferris. The panels depict Vicksburg history — from Native settlement and steamboat trade through the 1863 siege and the 1927 flood — and stretch a quarter mile along Levee Street as a free open-air gallery.

Address: Levee St between Clay St and Grove St, Vicksburg, MS 39183

Tip: Easiest free parking is along Levee Street itself or in the Catfish Row Art Park lots one block north. The murals face the Mississippi, so early morning and late afternoon light read best. Walk south to north and pair it with the Lower Mississippi River Museum a block east on Washington Street.

Parks & Nature

A free downtown city park between the floodwall murals and Washington Street, designed for families with a playground, separate toddler play area, splash pad, and steamboat play structure built from pieces of the historic riverboat Sprague. Painted concrete walls along the perimeter display rotating children's artwork and Vicksburg-themed murals.

Address: Levee St between Clay St and Grove St, Vicksburg, MS 39180

Tip: Open daily 9 a.m. to sunset; the splash pad runs in warm months. Restrooms on site. The park is fully ADA accessible. Pair it with the Riverfront Murals next door for an easy hour with kids before continuing up Washington Street to the museums or down to the Mississippi River overlook.

History & Culture

The 1890 candy company storefront where Joseph Biedenharn became the first person to bottle Coca-Cola in 1894 — Asa Candler's syrup, Biedenharn's idea to put it in glass for country customers who lived too far from a soda fountain. Restored by the Biedenharn family in 1979 and now run by the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation, with the original bottling line, candy-store counter, and family-history exhibits.

Address: 1107 Washington St, Vicksburg, MS 39183

Tip: Open Mon–Sat 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sun 1:30–4:30 p.m.; closed New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. The operator's own website (biedenharncoca-colamuseum.com) is currently offline — call 601-638-6514 ahead to confirm today's hours and admission. The candy counter still serves Coke floats, which is most people's favorite part.