Shepard State Park

About this park

Shepard State Park, managed by the City of Gautier since 2013, protects 395 acres of trees, wildflowers, and coastal marsh along the Gulf Coast just south of U.S. Highway 90, bordered by scenic Lamotte Bayou. That municipal management arrangement reflects a broader pattern among some of Mississippi's smaller coastal and flood-vulnerable parks, where local city governments have taken on day-to-day operations while the park retains its state park designation. The park has built a genuine reputation among mountain bikers for its network of wooded trails, drawing cyclists from across the Gulf Coast region for terrain that ranks among the best mountain biking available anywhere in Mississippi. An 18-hole disc golf course winding along the bayou, established in 1997, adds another dedicated recreational niche to the park, alongside a dog park, archery course, and 28 developed campsites with a bathhouse for overnight visitors. Located just a short drive from Pascagoula and easily accessible from Biloxi, Shepard State Park offers coastal recreation without the dense commercial development found along more built-up stretches of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Hiking trails through the park's marshland and woods give visitors a chance to spot sandhill cranes and other coastal wildlife, reflecting Gautier's broader identity as "Nature's Playground" and its proximity to the nearby Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge.