Talimena Scenic Drive

Visual delights await those who travel along the Talimena Scenic Drive. See vistas with shades of green in the foreground's forests to blue haze in the distant mountains. Rocky fields and trees gnarled from winter winds and ice testify to the harsh environment the early settlers encountered in these mountains. The Talimena Scenic Byway falls gently like a ribbon over Winding Stair and Rich Mountains. Cresting the highest points between the Appalachians and the Rockies, this byway showcases nature's quiet solitude. One breathtaking panorama follows another as this National Forest Scenic Byway winds along forested mountain tops between Mena, Arkansas, and Talihina, Oklahoma. Visit Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas and the Talimena State Park in Oklahoma as well as the Winding Stair Mountain National Recreation Area which surrounds the byway in Oklahoma. Here you can enjoy the four distinct seasons of the Ouachita National Forest at their best. Wildlife is abundant in the area and you may be lucky enough to spot a black bear or a roadrunner crossing the road as you drive across the mountains. Information stations are located at each end of the drive; just outside Mena in Arkansas and the intersection of Highway 1 and Highway 271 northeast of Talihina in Oklahoma.