1991 to 2020 normals: 50 inches in the north, about 65 along the coast
Skills worth learning here
Train for extraction from soft ground and for water, not for steep terrain. Sand recovery on the coastal plain, mud recovery on clay in the north, and honest judgement about flooded crossings after a storm that dropped several inches in an afternoon. Add navigation with a Motor Vehicle Use Map, since that is the document that decides whether a road is open and it does not look like a trail app. Heat management, hydration and insect-borne illness awareness belong in the same weekend.
Training is the cheapest upgrade there is. It costs less than a bumper, weighs nothing, and works on every vehicle you will ever own.
Common courses
01Driving: line choice, throttle and brake control, airing down, spotting
02Recovery: safe rigging, winching and kinetic recovery
03Field repair: tires, fluids, electrical faults and improvised fixes
04Navigation and communication
05Wilderness first aid
How to choose a course
Small classes and real terrain.
01Ask about class size and how much time you spend driving rather than watching.
02Ask whether you train in your own vehicle. You should.
03Ask about the instructors' certification and how long they have been teaching.
04Ask what terrain the course uses, and what to bring.
Why it is worth it
A trained driver breaks less, gets stuck less and recovers more safely. Most vehicle damage on the trail comes from speed and poor line choice, and most recovery injuries come from rigging that someone guessed at.
Questions people ask
I have driven dirt roads for years. Is a course worth it?
Most experienced drivers say the recovery day alone was worth it. Rigging a winch pull safely is not something to work out for the first time when you are stuck.
Do I need a built vehicle to attend?
No. Most introductory courses are designed for stock four-wheel-drive vehicles, and learning what a stock vehicle can do is the point.
How high is Mississippi?
From Gulfport at 20 feet to Woodall Mountain at 806.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
Holly SpringsChewalla Lake and the north unit of the forest605 ft
IukaNearest town to Woodall Mountain and the Tennessee River corner570 ft
OxfordHolly Springs forest office and the Yalobusha unit507 ft
ForestBienville forest office; Marathon Lake lies south east479 ft
MeadvilleHomochitto forest office; Clear Springs is five miles west314 ft
JacksonForest Supervisor’s Office; the Trace is busy at rush hour here278 ft
TupeloParkway visitor centre and the way in to Tombigbee forest277 ft
WigginsDe Soto Ranger District office; gateway to Black Creek260 ft
VicksburgCorps district town, the 16-mile tour road and the river bluffs242 ft
NatchezMilepost 0 on the Trace and the south end of the river byways215 ft
WaynesboroChickasawhay country: Turkey Fork, Little Tiger and Longleaf191 ft
HattiesburgLargest services before the De Soto and Camp Shelby country164 ft
New AugustaTurn for Rattlesnake Bay and the Black Creek Wilderness111 ft
Rolling ForkDelta Ranger District office and Delta trail permits106 ft
Ocean SpringsDavis Bayou, the only drive-in Gulf Islands area in the state21 ft
GulfportShip Island ferry and the west end of the Gulf Coast byway20 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Woodall MountainThe state high point, in Tishomingo County. Our own reading at the summit point gives 805 ft806 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
