Grand Gulf Military Park

A beautiful place down a long drive on a narrow winding hilly asphalt road to this hidden gem. Two campgrounds, one on the flat and the other on top of a hill. Surrounded with hiking trails, historic buildings and sites and deep southern woods.

I'm sure it is busy on weekends and holidays during school breaks, but lovely and quiet other times. Only problem is little to no cell service. Not a bad thing for most.

This is just off the beaten track between Vicksburg and Natchez. It is worth the short drive to find this little piece of heaven.

Road is as previously stated, windy and narrow, but overall not bad. Friendly and helpful ranger who gave us good recommendations for eating out and things to do. Visit the Old Country Store and Mr. D for the BEST fried chicken.

It was so quiet and peaceful and we really enjoyed walking around the park and down to the river.

Only negative is some of the sites have some trees where the branches should be trimmed and cell service isn't that good.

We enjoyed our time here and would stay again if in area.

Campground has two campgrounds. One on the lower level, which seemed a little tight for us in a 35' fifth wheel. However, there were two other campers there with rigs our size so it is doable. We stayed in the upper campground which was more spacious between sites, but the ground sloped off fairly rapidly from the pad. Had a nice museum in the office area. We picked this campground based on the fact that it was midway between Natchez and Vicksburg. It turned out that the trip to Vicksburg was acceptable, but the trip to Natchez was over an hour and a little longer than we would have liked. If we were to do it over, I think we would have stayed in the state park close to Natchez and then moved up to this park for visiting Vicksburg.

We picked up our 21’ trailer on Friday and stayed here Saturday night en route back home. As a certified principal I now homeschool, and believe the world is an amazing classroom. We will definitely be returning! Admission includes access to the museum, carriage house and all sites around the military park, but even better is the gates are locked 5pm-8am (you get close if need to leave). Why is this good? Only you and overnight campers are exploring the old church, gun embankments, 75’ observation tower, Spanish house, cemetery, Spanish house and more... and with only 42 campsites plus tents, it is not crowded. I will attach photos. Only wildlife we saw was one deer.
Mississippi River:
It was super hot in July so we did not walk the quarter mile to the river on the river road but will next time. River boats use this as a port on some itineraries, and we are avid cruisers, so this was neat to see anyway for us since ships are not currently sailing.
Museum (included in admission):
The museum has artifacts from Civil War, WW I and II, and Indian artifacts 5000-7000 years old. If not staying here our admission to the grounds would have been $4/adult, $3/senior, $1/child which is included in your $25 overnight stay anyway. The Carriage House is also only open 8-5 and just out behind the museum.
Campgrounds:
Upper and Lower. We stayed in lower - site 4. Lucky to get one bar of cell service but with only 22 sites there the peace was nice. Water, sewer and electricity hookups on perfectly level concrete pad. Due to Covid the bathhouses were closed so did not check those out, but had to be self contained to be able to stay there. For our stay, there were only three campers in Lower and two campers in Upper - and that included our own out of those five. Reservations over telephone and must check in by 4:30 at the museum before it’s closed and gate locked at 5:00. All sites looked to be back in, and my first time ever driving anything larger than my SUV was pulling our new trailer back home from here - and I was successful!
Nearby town:
Port Gibson. Go explore Natchez Trace Parkway. Have the best fried chicken ever at the Old Country Store in Lorman (25 minutes away).
We will be returning for longer. Our children were not with us for picking up and transporting camping trailer, but when we hit the road for longer trips beginning in September we will most definitely be back.
Reservations:
Not online but must call in. No reservation number but they take your basic info. I called the day of to verify once again since I’m so accustomed to having email confirmations in my travel folder.
Staff:
I believe his name was Mack in the Museum and he was super friendly and knowledgeable. We all wore masks (required to enter due to Covid) and learned a lot. We have rented an RV in previous times and I grew up camping in tents and pop-ups, so am new to owning, but would not hesitate returning at all. Truly a hidden gem off the beaten path.
Other Thoughts:
I wish this facility received federal funds like Vicksburg to have better lighting in the cases to preserve the amazing artifacts they have on display for future generations - the quality of what’s inside is just that good!! Anyone with any interest in history must check this place out, even if not camping - especially since the maximum cost is $4 per person. Very well worth the trip off the beaten path!!!

This remote gem is well worth it. Lots of history to experience. We enjoyed walking through the old buildings, water wheel, cemetery, battlements, and seeing the old submarine. The upper campground has a steep hill but the sites are more spacious. We came in after hours so they gave us a code to get in the gate. Very few folks here so very quiet and peaceful. We have seen lots of deer. It was an overnight stop for us but will come back. Our site was level and we did not unhook. Cell service is sketchy.

Drove at height of COVID just before Christmas 2020 from NJ to pick up new travel trailer (Outdoors RV) outside of Dallas. Built in Oregon, the RV was not available East of Mississippi R. On the four day pedal to the metal 1550 mile drive we stayed self contained in old 5th wheel that served us well over the years then traded it in. We came down on West side of Application Mts. (Shenandoah Valley) and returned on East side of range. All the way, I was struck by all the Civil War history.
Not ever crossing the Mississippi R., I wanted to put my feet into the Mighty Mississippi. We could not have picked a better location. We where the only ones there and had the run of the place. Two major naval battles took part there where the Confederate fort at Grand Gulf defended Vicksburg repelling seven iron clad Union ships coming up the Mississippi. You can feel the history and still hear the canons. We camped right next to a Confederate battery. A short walk, I got to put my feet in the Mississippi. Looking up and down the river, you saw no civilization but working tugs navigating the swift current. You can hear their powerful engines straining going up river. I could not believe how cold the water is, the strength of the current and the signs on a pole signifying past floods which climbed to 35’ above where I was standing.
The area is steeped in history. I found it ironic that the once thriving river community was not only ravished by War but soon after Yellow Fever as we combat COVID.

Spent Labor Day weekend 2021 at site 20 on the upper level. Arriving during daylight would have been nicer as the Grand Gulf Rd from Hwy 61 was rather scenic.

The camp has an upper and a lower level. When we visited fires were not allowed in the lower level sites.

The historical building and artifacts in the museum were well presented and very interesting to spend a day viewing. We ran out of time and did not get a chance to climb the observation tower which probably had a great view across the Mississippi River to Louisiana.

We'll gladly stay there again when we're in the area.

We stayed here in a 34 mh towing. We camped on the upper hill. The hill was very steep but we made it up. The sites were paved and easy to level. Most were back in. It is very quiet on the hill. We pretty much had our pick of sites as there were not many here. It is about 30 minutes off the beaten path south of Vicksburg, but it is a gem of history and the Civil War if you like that stuff. We had FH. The water pressure was not the greatest, but we would not hesitate to stay here again. Laundry has 3 washers, 3 dryers. All worked well as we did our laundry here. We did a day trip to Vicksburg National Military Park and the surrounding areas. There is a museum on grounds and a little road tour with battle history. Across the road from the park is a road that takes you right down to the Mississippi River. We really liked this little park.

Well maintained, sites are back-in with FHU and pretty level. There are two sections; upper / lower. Being off season, we had our choice and didn't notice much difference, except for the hill to get to the upper; don't be intimidated. We really liked this CG; the attractions are right here. Lots of Civil War history and artifacts. From a Northerner's perspective, Port Gibson is worth a walk-thru. Rural and Southern, we found two groceries and an impressive Presbyterian church there.

PRO
Senior discount- saved $10 for 2 nights
No prepayment required when phone reservations made 154 days prior to arriving
7 miles off of US61
Good jumping off spot for Natchez Trace and Vicksburg Battlefield
Friendly and helpful staff
Firewood delivered to campsite by staff for $5
Very quiet
Moveable metal frame wooden picnic table
Metal fire ring (only in upper loop) without cooking grate
Some shade
Level site #12
Entrance gate locked overnight
Upper loop 3/4 occupied; lower loop no occupants Thursday or Friday night

CONS
Street lights in campground
Campsite is selected from whatever is available upon your arrival, so you have to drive around and look for your site
Gate locked earlier than 5pm as we were told it would be locked at 5pm, but upon arriving at 445pm and it was locked!
No campfires permitted in lower loop and that’s where the sites have the most shade Site#12 got covered with about 2 inches of mud upon a rain storm
Tiny grocery store in Port Gibson; otherwise it’s a trip to Vicksburg for the closest Walmart
Port Gibson had a McDonalds, Sonic and Pizza Hut(take out only)
1 bar Verizon
No WiFi