Talimena Scenic Drive
Department of Transportation.
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.
Directions
Getting to the Byway:
###Arkansas Section### ####From Little Rock, AR#### * Get on I-30 west. * Stay on I-30 west until the intersection with US-70 west. * Follow US-70 west until you merge onto US-270 west. * Travel on US-270 and turn to the left when it becomes US-270/US-71. * Follow US-71 until you reach the city of Mena where the byway begins. ####From Fort Smith, AR#### * Take US-71 south to Mena, AR. * Get onto AR-88 to enter the Arkansas section of the byway. ###Oklahoma Section ####From Tulsa, OK#### * Take the Muskogee Turnpike southeast to I-40. * Go east on I-40 to Exit 307. * Turn south on U.S. 59. * Just past Poteau, turn onto U.S. 271 toward Wister. * In the Ouachita National Forest turn east on State Route 1, the beginning of the Talimena Scenic Byway in Oklahoma.
Navigating the Byway:
* The byway starts at the East End Visitor Information Station, GPS point (34.601078,-94.243223).
* Drive north on State Hwy. 88/Talimena Scenic Dr. to the state line of Arkansas and Oklahoma. GPS point (34.693553,-94.455697)
