Talimena National Scenic Byway among most beautiful drives in U.S.

BY BRANDI BALL World Scene Writer
Sunday, June 26, 2011
6/26/11 at 4:07 AM

Editor's note: Oklahoma Road Trips is an occasional series highlighting the state's most beautiful road trip destinations. Find more trips at tulsaworld.com/okroadtrips

TALIHINA - At about 1,000 feet, Jim Lambert took off his motorcycle helmet and stood in silence.

He breathed in and out, taking in the crisp air. Then, he gazed out at the landscape.

"Isn't this something?" he asked his wife, Barbara. "This is really something."

The couple from Lafayatte, La., were at Robbers Cave State Park near Wilburton, marveling at the view of the mountains and Coon Creek Lake below.

Jim has traveled all over the country on his bike, but to celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversary, he finally convinced Barbara to hop on and hold on.

The Lamberts had just driven the length of the nearby Talimena National Scenic Byway, a 54-mile stretch in the Ouachita Mountains that joins Mena, Ark., in the east to Talihina in the west.

The iconic drive was chosen by the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department for its "Ten Most Beautiful Places in Oklahoma" list.

The byway was designated as Oklahoma 1 in the 1970s because of its scenery, and it was added to the national "America's Byways Program" in 2005. It follows the crests along some of the highest ridges between the Appalachian and Rocky mountains.

Forget the mountain music because motorcycles and cars buzz along the drive, meshing with the sounds of chirping birds, rustling trees, trickling water and a plethora of oohs and ahhs.

"When we had out-of-state company in for my son's wedding, we loaded up and headed out for a drive," said Gordon Faram, who lives near Red Oak. "They even laughed a little bit when I told them we were going for a ride. Afterward, they said it was one of the most beautiful things they have seen."

Maybe Faram was on to something. The byway is similar to a setting one might see on a 1950s tourism poster, of a station wagon packed to the gills with kids and pets as a family climbs a mountain for a Sunday drive.

"It really is," he said with a chuckle. "All jokes aside, though, spending time with the family just looking out at what God created is time well spent. You don't have to go to an amusement park to see your kids having fun. People would be surprised at how much kids like little things like going on a pretty drive. They'll sure thank you for it when they grow up, and that's the truth."

Most of the Talimena Byway is a steep grade, with a twisting and turning path (appropriately named Winding Stair Mountain), but navigating the two-lane, no-shoulder drive isn't a concern for bikers like Jim Lambert.

"The turnouts, the quality of the roadway, it is all really a quality drive," Jim said. "I love this area. I've been here before, and I wanted to bring (Barbara). In my opinion, the Talimena trail is very comparable to the Blue Ridge Parkway."

You'd be hard-pressed to find a higher compliment.

The Blue Ridge Parkway runs through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, through the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, then the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near the Tennessee border.

The Blue Ridge Parkway is 469 miles long, has mountains that top out at 6,000 feet and is considered one of the country's crown jewels.

Although the height of the Ouachitas isn't nearly on the same scale as the towering Blue Ridge, the Talimena Byway is the only route in Oklahoma where you can drive from an elevation of 274 feet to an elevation of 2,600 feet in a distance of less than 100 miles.

Along with trails and the fresh springs that surround it, the drive boasts 22 vista pullouts. Along the first few miles on the Oklahoma side is a pullout to the south that allows for a 360-degree view of the mountains and valleys below.

"I live near here, and I'm amazed every day," Faram said. "You don't take the byway if you are itchin' to hurry, but sometimes I take the mountain pass (U.S. 259) just to space out and relax. There's nothing as calming as looking out at those beautiful hills and trees."

Bear Stephenson, who rides motorcycles recreationally with a group out of South Dakota (the "Bear's Den"), has driven national byways from the Everglades to Route 1 along the Pacific Coast.

"We took it from Orange County in the south to Sonoma in the north," Stephenson said. "It's just breathtaking. No two ways about it.

"But if you ask me to compare California to Oklahoma - I can't do that. This world, this country has so many things to look at. California's no better, or Virginia's no better. You can't compare the views you see in Oklahoma and Arkansas to anywhere else because they're unique to Oklahoma and Arkansas. That's why we ride 900 miles to the center of the country just to see it."

Talimena National Scenic Byway

918-567-2052 (park office)

54-mile stretch along Oklahoma 1 that connects Talihina to Mena, Ark. Visitor information stations are at each end of the scenic byway.

Talihina lies in the valley between the Winding Stair Mountains and the Kiamichi Mountains and is the gateway to the Talimena National Scenic Byway and the Ouachita National Forest. It is close to Sardis Lake, Cedar Lake and numerous rivers and streams.

In the forest, there are two scenic byways, numerous campgrounds, picnic areas, quiet fishing holes, and more than 700 miles of trails for hiking and horseback riding. Here are some good bets:

Billy Creek (camping, picnicking, hiking and fishing)

Cedar Lake (camping, picnicking, hiking, fishing, swimming and horseback riding)

Horsethief Springs (picnicking and hiking)

Pipe Springs (picnicking)

Winding Stair (camping, picnicking and hiking)

Explore trails that horse thieves used in the 1800s at Horsethief Springs Historic Site and Picnic Ground. While crossing the state line between Oklahoma and Arkansas, stop at the 5-foot iron marker that once delineated the border between the state of Arkansas and the Choctaw Nation. Discover old tombstones and learn about Rich Mountain's settlers at Pioneer Cemetery Historic Site. Budding geologists can examine the mountain's history by observing the rock glacier at Sunset Vista, and everyone can appreciate the forest's dwarf oaks on a trail at Castle Rock Vista.

Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, America's Byways

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Original Print Headline: Scenic corridor

Brandi Ball 918-581-8369
brandi.ball@tulsaworld.com

Associated Images:

The twisting roadway along the Talimena National Scenic Byway. The drive, which is 54 miles long, climbs Winding Stair Mountain and connects Talihina to Mena, Ark. BRANDI BALL/Tulsa World