In response to the popularity of 'driving
for pleasure,' the USDA Forest service established the National
Forest Scenic Byway Program in May 1988. This program promotes and
recognizes highways in the 156 national forests across 44 states
with outstanding scenery and historical significance.
One of the first National forest Scenic Byways, the Talimena Scenic
Drive, is located in the western part of the Ouachita Mountains.
The drive, designated in February 1989, is between the city limits
of Mena, Arkansas and a point of US highway 271 just north of Talihina,
Oklahoma.
Constructed by the Oklahoma and Arkansas Highway departments between
1964 and 1969 with federal public highway funds, the route connected
two truck trails originally built by Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC). The Oklahoma and Arkansas highway departments' now maintain
the byway.
Talimena Scenic Drive Interpretive Guide Home
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