Things to do in Hattiesburg
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Hattiesburg
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Spring is a best season, warm and bikeable with HUBFEST, Live at Five and roses, but tornado risk builds.
Summer is hot and humid with highs in the low to mid 90s and afternoon storms, so outdoors is early morning only.
Fall is the other best season, with football, Live at Five, the Renaissance Festival and Restaurant Week in October.
Winter is mild, grey and quiet, with the cheapest rates and easiest restaurant bookings of the year.
What's on
- HUBFEST March
The city's largest outdoor festival downtown, with hundreds of booths, multiple music stages and a children's village.
- Live at Five Friday evenings in spring and fall
Free outdoor concerts at Town Square Park, with food vendors and a bring a blanket crowd.
- Eaglepalooza Spring
Southern Miss free downtown concert, stacked with other downtown live music on the same night.
- FestivalSouth Late May through June
A multi week performing arts festival of orchestra, dance, theatre and family programmes across venues.
- Mobile Street Renaissance Festival Late September
Heritage festival on Mobile Street that opens the full Sixth Street Museum District for the day.
- Hattiesburg Restaurant Week Usually mid October
Specials across the local restaurant scene under a yearly theme, promoted by Visit Hattiesburg.
- Southern Miss football at The Rock September to November home Saturdays
Golden Eagles home games at M.M. Roberts Stadium, with campus tailgating filling hotels and restaurants.
Best things to do in Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg Zoo
A shady 12 acre zoo with over 100 species, a train, a splash pad and a ropes course, sized right for a half day.
Hattiesburg Pocket Museum
A free outdoor alley of miniature scenes and tiny art swaps behind the Saenger, best explored slowly in daylight.
Hattiesburg Saenger Theater
A restored 1929 theatre for touring shows, concerts and film nights, and the centre of a downtown evening.
1964 Freedom Summer Trail
A 16 stop audio trail marking Hattiesburg sites from the 1964 voter registration campaign and Freedom Summer.
African American Military History Museum
Free museum in the 1942 USO built for Black soldiers, honouring Black military service in its original building.
Historic Eureka School
A 1921 brick school for Black students, now a museum and exhibition space in the Sixth Street district.
Mississippi Armed Forces Museum
A large free museum at Camp Shelby telling Mississippi military service through personal stories and vehicles.
M.M. Roberts Stadium
Southern Miss football at The Rock, with campus tailgating that turns a fall Saturday into the city event.
Where to stay in Hattiesburg
Midtown and The Avenues
best overall base, character and restaurants
Leafy historic streets by Hardy Street and the university, with the best restaurants and trail access.
Downtown Historic District
short walkable weekend
Walk to the Saenger, Pocket Museum and downtown restaurants, with lodging in a mansion bed and breakfast.
West Hattiesburg
value, groups and through travel
The I-59 and US 98 chain cluster with free parking and pools, built for logistics rather than charm.
Think twice about
- US 49 and I-59 interchange motel strips
Unvetted cheap motels vary widely and property crime is the main visitor risk. Book a named, recently reviewed property in a main cluster.
- Palmers Crossing
A residential district with low safety grades in crime map analyses and no visitor lodging. There is no reason to base there.
- Bethune and Eastside
Graded the highest crime area in neighbourhood analyses consulted, residential with no visitor base. Visit the Sixth Street museums in their hours instead.
- East Jerusalem
A residential district in the lowest safety tier in analyses consulted, with no visitor lodging or reason to base there.
Best restaurants in Hattiesburg
Bourbon on Front
Downtown steakhouse with bourbon flights and a rooftop patio, and the city splurge dinner reservation.
Crescent City Grill
Robert St. John New Orleans cooking in Midtown, Gulf seafood and gumbo in a warm, serious dining room.
Patio 44
A local default for patio dinner, steaks and seafood broad enough to settle any mixed group.
Blu Jazz Cafe
A downtown Cajun and Creole cafe known for shrimp and grits and an award winning brunch.
The Porter Public House
A downtown gastropub pouring Mississippi craft beer with pub food, trivia and live music nights.
Southern Prohibition Brewing
The SoPro taproom pouring its own lagers and seasonal beers, ranked among the best brewpubs in the US.
Keg and Barrel
A converted house beer garden with dozens of taps, porches and food that goes well beyond bar level.
The Midtowner
The city breakfast institution for biscuits, pancakes and blue plate lunches in Midtown.
Outdoor things to do in Hattiesburg
Longleaf Trace
A 44 mile paved rail trail through pine forest and small towns, and the best active day in Hattiesburg.
Paul B. Johnson State Park
A lake park south of the city for fishing, boating, swimming, disc golf, trails and renovated camping.
Okatoma Outdoor Post
The outfitter for canoe and kayak trips on spring fed Okatoma Creek, a gentle and beginner friendly paddle.
Black Creek Trail
A wild trail along Black Creek in the state only wilderness, with swimming holes and primitive forest walking.
Timberton Golf Club
A Mark McCumber designed course south of the city, and the best chance of a quality visitor round.
Shadow Ridge Golf Club
A semi private Azinger designed course with rolling ground and lakes, straightforward to book ahead.
Canebrake Country Club
A private Jerry Pate course beside a large lake, playable only through a member and rated among the state best.
Hattiesburg Country Club
The historic private club with a championship course and tennis, accessible only through a member.
Best hotels in Hattiesburg
Hotel Indigo Hattiesburg
Mississippi's first Hotel Indigo, a boutique in Midtown themed on timber and rail with the Brass Hat bar.
Ross Mansion Bed & Breakfast
A historic mansion bed and breakfast with a hosted, personal stay no chain in the corridor can match.
Longleaf Piney Resort
Cabins and glamping style lodging by the Longleaf Trace, with bikes for a morning ride from the door.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hattiesburg
A full service chain hotel with restaurant, bar and indoor pool at the highway junction for groups and events.
Courtyard by Marriott Hattiesburg
A modern Courtyard with pool and bistro in the west cluster, reliable for highway and hospital visits.
Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Hattiesburg
The high volume budget workhorse on US 49, straightforward rooms and breakfast for full days out.
avid Hotel Hattiesburg West
A newer essentials hotel in the west cluster with free hot breakfast, parking and coffee included.
Is Hattiesburg expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $70 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $130 a person |
| Splurge | $260 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Hattiesburg Saenger Theater: weeks ahead
- Historic Eureka School: a few days ahead
- M.M. Roberts Stadium: weeks ahead
- Okatoma Outdoor Post: a few days ahead
- Timberton Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Shadow Ridge Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Bourbon on Front: a few days ahead
- Crescent City Grill: a few days ahead
- Book hotels weeks to months ahead for Southern Miss home football, graduation and HUBFEST weekends.
- Reserve Bourbon on Front and Crescent City Grill for weekend dinner, and best Saenger seats in days to weeks.
- Book Ross Mansion early for its tiny room count, and Okatoma rentals on spring and summer Saturdays.
- Check Sixth Street museum hours in the week you visit rather than assuming walk in hours.
Is Hattiesburg safe?
- Leave nothing visible in the car anywhere, including trailheads and the state park, as larceny is the main risk.
- Treat summer heat as a medical risk, sightsee early, carry water and retreat to air conditioning at midday.
- Keep weather alerts on for spring tornadoes, summer storms and late summer inland hurricane effects.
- Use lit, peopled blocks downtown at night and rideshare back to Midtown if unsure of a late walk.
Hattiesburg travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Thirsty Hippo shows as permanently closed in current listings, so do not build a night around it.
- Downtown retail finishes in a couple of hours, so plan downtown as history, food and a show.
- Zoo ropes course and giraffe experiences depend on weather and staffing and are not guaranteed.
- Canebrake and Hattiesburg Country Club are fully private, so do not plan a walk up tee time there.
Getting around Hattiesburg: public transport and more
- You need a car for anything beyond a downtown only weekend, as sights are spread and sidewalks are inconsistent.
- Downtown, Midtown, the Zoo and campus are short drives from each other, and parking is mostly free outside game days.
- Laurel is about 35 minutes away, the Gulf Coast about 70 minutes, and New Orleans about 1 hour 45 minutes.
- A Longleaf Trace bike day from the university trailhead is the one full day that needs no driving.
Who Hattiesburg suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Hattiesburg your trip
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