Hiking trails at Vicksburg National Military Park

The Vicksburg Battlefield Tour Road is open to both hikers and bikers. Bikers are asked to ride with the traffic and hikers to walk against the traffic. A pedestrian / bike lane is built into the tour road. The 16-mile road can be divided into smaller loops for those not wanting to hike or bike the entire thing. An information panel with the hike options is located near the Memorial Arch, the entrance to the Battlefield Tour Road.

• Option 1 (10.3 miles): The entire northern loop of the Tour Road (excludes Grant Avenue)
• Option 2 (6 miles): Loop from the Visitor Center north to Graveyard Road, then back south to the Visitor Center
• Option 3 (3.5 miles): Loop from the Visitor Center north to the Illinois Memorial, cutting through to the western side of the tour road via a dirt road at the end of the pavement near the Memorial, then back south to the Visitor Center
• Option 4 (2.75 miles): Loop from the Visitor Center north to Pemberton Avenue, then back south to the Visitor Center
• Option 5 (3 miles): The entire southern loop of the Tour Road.

There are no easily accessible off-road hiking trails in the park, though there is one designed for Boy Scouts to receive merit badges for orienteering (map and compass skills). Called the Al Scheller Hiking Trail, the 12-mile trail crisscrosses the battlefield via a series of earthen trails and park roads. It is open to anyone, but the turns are not marked. Printed directions are given using compass headings only, so you would have to know how to read a map and compass to make your way along the trail. No one is allowed on the trail when it is wet. For more information and a trail map with directions, visit the Vicksburg Trails Commission website

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