BackRoads: Arkansas

Talimena Scenic Drive Eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas 54 Miles Spend the entire day enjoying this ride.

The Talimena Scenic Drive follows along the top of the Ouachita, Winding Stair and Rich Mountain ranges. The forests of the Ouachita National Forest presents the rider with stunning forest beauty that is punctuated by the visual wonders of the scenic turnouts and overlooks.

The Talimena is situated on the highest east-west spanning ranges between the Rockies and the Appalachian mountains.

The trails in this area are the same ones used by horse thieves in the 1800’s. Check out Horsethief Springs Historical Site and Picnic Ground. An old 5-foot iron marker delineates what was once the line between Arkansas and the Choctaw Nation. In the old cemeteries learn a lot about the local history by reading the inscriptions on the tombstones.

The Talimena is not a long trip. You can comfortably explore it in a full day of riding, but it has some outstanding motorcycle roads. Double your thrill – ride it in both directions.

The Scenic Seven 300 Miles Two or three days.

Arkansas has a lot of fun and challenging roads for motorcycles. One of the best trips and one of the most scenic routes in Arkansas is what they call riding the Scenic Seven.

This trip covers about 300 miles of Arkansas and cuts north-south across the state. To ride it south to north on SR 7 at the Louisiana border just south of El Dorado and head north. Stay on SR 7 at all times. Your route will take you across four distinct geographical regions of Arkansas. In the south you are in the West Gulf Coastal Plains, a region that saw an oil boom in 1921.

Further north you will ride through the Ouachita Mountains famous for their quartz crystals. The lakes in this region, especially Lake Ouachita, are a paradise for boating, fishing and water sports.

Arkansas – in its natural state – also has outstanding whitewater rafting, canoeing and even house boating opportunities. Motorized barges can be rented that allow you to use your RV as a houseboat.

The Scenic Seven takes the traveler through the heart of downtown Hot Springs and immediately in front of the famed Bath House Row.

As you ride out of the Hot Springs area you will soon begin to ascend into the Ozark Mountains and the Ozarks National Forests. Riding in the Ozarks is fun anytime, but if you enjoy a full palette of fall colors plan on making the trip in late September or early October.

All along the route you can enjoy the small town charm, the local eateries, plenty of sight seeing and, always, motorcycle roads that you...

We hope that you enjoyed reading this excerpt from "Arkansas". If you would like to read the entire article and more, you can order a back issue of Mar / Apr 2006 where this article was originally published.

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