Roosevelt State Park

About this park

Roosevelt State Park, the seventh of ten original Mississippi state parks built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, began construction in August 1935 and formally opened to the public in April 1940, a five-year building campaign that produced much of the historic infrastructure still in use today. The park surrounds 150-acre Shadow Lake at the western edge of the Bienville National Forest, conveniently situated almost exactly halfway between Jackson and Meridian along the I-20 corridor. Nine of the park's cabins trace directly back to that original CCC construction, giving Roosevelt one of the more substantial collections of Depression-era rustic architecture anywhere in the Mississippi park system, supplemented by a lakefront motel near the Alfreda-Harris Lodge for visitors preferring more conventional accommodations. The park's 110 full-hookup RV campsites, split between the R.O. Hannah Campground on the lake's east side and the original CCC Campground on the west, emerged from a significant modern renovation that updated the park's camping infrastructure while preserving its historic character. An 18-hole disc golf course, a splash-zone water slide, and tennis courts round out a notably complete amenity package for a park built nearly 90 years ago, reflecting continuous investment and renovation across generations of use. The surrounding Bienville National Forest gives Roosevelt a genuinely wooded, secluded feel despite its convenient interstate access, making it a popular stopover for travelers moving between Mississippi's two largest cities in this part of the state.