The Talimena Scenic Drive is a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

southeastern Oklahoma Choctaw Country is the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation's official tourism designation for Southeastern Oklahoma. The name was previously Kiamichi Country until changed in honor of the Choctaw Nation headquartered there. The current ...

and extreme western

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

spanning a stretch of

Oklahoma State Highway 1 State Highway 1, sometimes abbreviated as SH-1, is a highway maintained by the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It travels through the southeastern part of the state, nicknamed Little Dixie. SH-1 is signed east and west. Route description Madill to ...

(SH-1) and

Arkansas Highway 88 Highway 88 (AR 88, Ark. 88, and Hwy. 88) is a designation for five state highways in Arkansas. All routes are maintained by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ArDOT). Oklahoma to Washita Highway 88 (AR 88, Ark. 88, and Hwy. 88) is a st ...

(AR 88) from

Talihina, Oklahoma Talihina (pronounced "tah-luh-HEE-nuh") is a town in LeFlore County, Oklahoma, United States, its name originating from two Choctaw words, ''tully'' and ''hena'', meaning iron road. Iron road is reference to the railroad that the town was built ar ...

, to

Mena, Arkansas Mena ( ) is a city in Polk County, Arkansas, United States. It is also the county seat of Polk County. The population was 5,558 as of the 2020 census. Mena is included in the Ark-La-Tex socio-economic region. Surrounded by the Ouachita National F ...

Route description

Designated a National Scenic Byway by the America's Byway Program in 2005, the road travels within the

Ouachita National Forest The Ouachita National Forest is a vast congressionally-designated United States National Forest, National Forest that lies in the western portion of Arkansas and portions of extreme-eastern Oklahoma, USA. History The Ouachita National Forest is t ...

along the highest peaks of the

Winding Stair Mountains The Winding Stair Mountains is a mountain ridge located within the state of Oklahoma in Le Flore County, north of Talihina, Choctaw Nation. Description The ridge is part of a larger mountain range, the Ouachita Mountains, which is itself a subse ...

, part of the Ouachita Mountain chain, including the second tallest peak in Arkansas, Rich Mountain, in elevation. Many of the forests along these ridges, stunted and of little commercial value, were never logged and are

old growth An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance (ecology), disturbance, and thereby exhibits un ...

. The two-lane road features hiking trails beginning at various points along its stretch and 22 scenic vista pull-outs. There are at least 13% hill grades along the route.

History

The current route opened in 1969 and formed a stretch of what would become Oklahoma State Highway 1. In this case, the number 1 was assigned due to the scenery along the highway. It was dedicated on June 7, 1970 by Lucy Baines Johnson-Nugent, the daughter of U.S. president

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

. The roadway was designated as a National Forest Scenic Byway on February 8, 1989. It was later made an Arkansas State Scenic Byway on January 7, 1998, and an Oklahoma State Scenic Byway on October 10, 2002. The National Scenic Byway status was conferred on September 22, 2005.

References

External links

Talimena Scenic Drive AssociationTwisties of the Talimena Drive
{{Authority control Protected areas of the U.S. Interior Highlands Arkansas Scenic Byways Roads in Oklahoma National Scenic Byways National Forest Scenic Byways Ouachita National Forest 1969 establishments in Arkansas 1969 establishments in Oklahoma