Bob Dearing Memorial Park

🏆🏆🏆🏆 Piney Woods Heritage — Day-use park in Laurel, Mississippi honoring Bob Dearing, a beloved local conservationist — the park features disc golf, playgrounds, and walking trails through magnolia and pine forest in the heart of Mississippi’s Piney Woods region.

Visitor Information

About Bob Dearing

Bob Dearing Memorial Park in Laurel preserves a recreation area in south-central Mississippi’s Piney Woods region. The longleaf pine forests that once blanketed southern Mississippi were logged almost to extinction during the timber boom (1880-1920), when Mississippi was the nation’s leading lumber producer. The Piney Woods region is now recovering through reforestation and prescribed fire management.

Things to Do

Fishing, camping, hiking through recovering Piney Woods forest, picnicking, and learning about Mississippi’s timber boom heritage in the longleaf pine belt.

Plan Your Visit

Bob Dearing Memorial Park offers camping, fishing, nature trails, and picnic facilities in the recovering Piney Woods forest. Laurel (adjacent) has a thriving downtown featured on HGTV’s “Home Town” with hosts Ben and Erin Napier — the show has transformed the town into a tourism destination. The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art houses one of the finest art collections in Mississippi. The Tallahala Creek is nearby for paddling.

Nature & Wildlife

The recovering Piney Woods support bobwhite quail (Mississippi’s signature game bird), pine warblers, and brown-headed nuthatches — a species found only in southeastern pine forests. Prescribed burning maintains the open understory that longleaf pines require. The Leaf River (nearby) supports paddlefish — prehistoric filter-feeders that can reach 100 pounds. Armadillos — newcomers that have expanded northward from Texas — are now common.

Insider Tips

Gulf Coast: This park serves the Mississippi Gulf Coast — devastated by Hurricane Katrina (2005), the most destructive natural disaster in US history. Pro tip: The Mississippi Coast has rebuilt but Katrina permanently changed the landscape — storm surge reached 28+ feet. Seafood: Mississippi Gulf Coast is famous for its shrimp and oyster industries.

Frequently Asked Questions

How bad was Hurricane Katrina?

Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005) caused $125+ billion in damage and killed 1,800+ people — the deadliest and costliest natural disaster in US history at the time. Mississippi’s coast was devastated by a 28-foot storm surge. In New Orleans, levee failures flooded 80% of the city. The disaster exposed failures at every level of government and disproportionately affected low-income and Black communities. Recovery took years and some areas never fully recovered.