Taylorsville offers a wide range of recreational opportunities in the town and surrounding areas. We are within easy driving distance of golf courses, fishing, hunting,water parks, art museums, shopping malls, movie theatres and restaurants. Taylorsville offers quiet rural living at modest cost, while providing convenient access to many larger cities, gaming communities, and other fine entertainment and recreation. Here you will find a list of MS water parks with links… great fun for the entire family. Mississippi water parks and state parks have great facilities for hiking, fishing, swimming, biking or camping.
In Smith County you’ll find the following recreational attractions & events:

• Leaf River ~ canoe/boat State access Point at bridge on Hwy 28 West
• Ross Barnett Lake located in Mize
• Shongelo Park located in Raleigh
• Bienville National Forest located in Raleigh
• Smith County Watermelon Festival in Mize

Bienville National Forest
Nearly 73,000 acres of Bienville National Forest are found in Smith County. Almost the entire acreage is open to hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and other outdoor pursuits. Hunting for deer, turkey, squirrel and rabbit is very popular.

Sports is a big spring and summer interest in Taylorsville and the town provides an excellent state of the art baseball/softball complex. From little league to high school baseball, our facility meets the need in a great way.

The Bienville National Forest manages two developed recreation areas in Smith County. Marathon and Shongelo. Marathon is located in the northwest corner of the county and contains 34 camping units, 16 picnic tables, 2 picnic shelters, and a swimming area. There is also a Lake Loop Trail of about 1 1/2 miles. Shongelo is located about 5 miles north of Raleigh and contains 4 camp sites, 7 picnic sites, 1 picnic shelter, a swimming area, and a 1/2 mile loop hiking trail with an observation platform overlooking the lake.