Flora, Mississippi: Mississippi Petrified Forest

I took my Girl Scout troop and we loved it. It's beautiful, very well maintained. This spot features a gorgeous, shady walking trail through the petrified woods, complete with a cat tour guide. It has huge indoor, air-conditioned displays of every kind of rock, panning for gold, and a gift shop that rivals Rock City or Pigeon Forge.

There is a very friendly cat who is the unofficial mascot of the petrified forest. We discovered her when we first walked onto the trail, and she followed us throughout its entirety.

The Mississippi Petrified Forest was a neat place, but I am not convinced that it was worth the price we paid to get in -- considering that only about five of the 26 stops on the nature trail actually had petrified wood to see. Our favorites were Stop 6 (a 14,940 pound piece of petrified wood that looks like a frog) and Stop 8 ("Caveman's Bench").

Probably better in Spring so you can see the undergrowth all sprung up -- still a petrified forest, so still awesome to see any time of year. Plus gift shop is great, beads and jewelry making, rocks and fulgurites.

Petrified Forest is a six block nature walk. The tour is self-guided but easy to understand. Ideal for anyone with even the slightest interest in nature or earth history. And it has a kicking gift shop. Ideal for any family or science class field trip.