Talimena Drive Named National Scenic Byway

Jim Taylor, travel writer
Arkansas Tourism

MENA – With numerous vista overlooks and a surrounding forest that includes some of mid-America’s most rugged terrain, the Talimena Scenic Drive has for many years been listed by the U.S. Forest Service as a national forest scenic byway, and its respective portions in Arkansas and Oklahoma have been designated as state scenic byways.

Through the efforts of the bi-state Talimena Scenic Drive Association, the drive gained in September 2005 what is perhaps its most significant honor to date. The Federal Highway Administration designated the route a national scenic byway under the agency’s America’s Byways program, which classifies selected routes as either All-American Roads or National Scenic Byways based on their archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic qualities.

The Talimena association includes officials from the U.S. Forest Service, Arkansas’s Queen Wilhelmina State Park and chambers of commerce in Mena and Talihina, Heavener, and Poteau, Okla., as well as area citizens and representatives from area businesses.

“This is a tremendous cultural and promotional opportunity for Arkansas and Oklahoma because the new designation will increase awareness of our region,” said Alan Newman, supervisor of the Ouachita National Forest. With the designation, Newman said, the Talimena drive will be “eligible for additional funding, and technical assistance and support for upgrading the road, as well as marketing both nationally and internationally.”

Riding the ridges of Rich and Winding Stair mountains through the Ouachita National Forest, the 54-mile drive (Ark. 88 and Okla. 1) connects the towns of Mena in western Arkansas with Talihina in eastern Oklahoma. It is especially popular in fall, when the Ouachita Mountains are draped in colorful leaves, and in spring, when emergent foliage and the blooms of redbuds, dogwoods and wildflowers appear later along the drive than in nearby valleys because of the drive’s significant elevation.

Lucky travelers on the drive may be treated to wildlife sightings that can include black bear, deer, coyote, and birds such as roadrunners and soaring eagles, hawks and vultures.

Mena, which serves as the drive’s eastern gateway, has located a tourist information center in the restored Kansas City Southern Depot at 514 Sherwood Ave. The depot houses local history exhibits and railroad memorabilia. Tourist information is also provided at Mena’s City Hall at 520 Mena St.

An 1851 log cabin, still standing on its original site, is located within the 10-acre Janssen Park at 601 N. 7th St. The structure’s long history has included stints as a residence, hospital, post office, inn, city hall and the main office of the company that purchased the land and then platted Mena. The picturesque park also contains ponds, a playground and picnic area.

Options for outdoor recreation near Mena include fishing at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's 300-acre Lake Wilhelmina located five miles west of town and float trips on area streams such as the Ouachita, Cossatot, Little Missouri and Mountain Fork rivers. The Ouachita National Forest around Mena contains trails for hiking, horseback riding, ATVs, dirt bikes and mountain bikes. The nearby Shady Lake Recreation Area, developed with Civilian Conservation Corps labor, features fishing, boating and swimming on its 25-acre lake as well as camping, hiking and picnicking.

For more information on Mena attractions, shopping, lodging and restaurants, visit www.gomenaarkansas.com or phone 479-394-8355. More information on Ouachita forest assets is available at the U.S. Forest Service visitors center at 1603 U.S. 71-N in Mena or by phone at (479) 394-2382.

The Talimena drive features six overlooks in the 13 miles between Mena and the Queen Wilhelmina park. A visitors center for the drive is located just west of Mena.

Situated on Rich Mountain near its 2,681-foot summit, Queen Wilhelmina caters to travelers with a modern, 38-room lodge, a full-service restaurant, a gift shop and campsites for RVs and tents. Two of the guest rooms include fireplaces and two others are equipped with spa tubs. The park's tent campsites accommodate backpackers hiking the 225-mile long Ouachita National Recreational Trail, which passes through the park on its route between Pinnacle Mountain State Park near Little Rock to Talimena State Park in Oklahoma.

While the park’s landscape can be experienced on a broad scale with views of the valleys and peaks of the surrounding Ouachitas, it can be observed more intimately by hiking one of the park's trails. In addition to a southern vista, the mile-long Lover's Leap Trail provides a forested walk where wildflowers abound from spring through fall. The park has available a free guide to its trails.

Though the park offers a "Romantic Rendezvous" package that includes lodging and meals, a miniature golf course, a miniature railway and a small animal park provide opportunities for entertaining children. For more Queen Wilhelmina information, visit www.queenwilhelmina.com or phone (479) 394-2863. For lodge reservations only, phone 1-800-264-2477.