Ouachita Trail -- Old Military Road Picnic Area, Talimena Scenic Byway, Leflore Co. OK - Long Distance Hiking Trails on Waymarking.com

The Ouachita Trail is a 192 mile-long trail through the Ouachita National Forest and Winding Stair National Recreation Area in southeastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. The trail criss-crosses the Talimena Scenic Byway at several spots along OK State Highway 1.

The waymarked trailhead is at the Old Military Road Picnic Area, Talimena Scenic Byway, Leflore Co. OK. From this point, it is 1 mile to the Ouachita trail.

From Wikipedia: (visit link)

"Ouachita National Recreation Trail is a 223-mile (359 km) long, continuous hiking trail through the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma and Arkansas. It is the longest backpacking trail in the Ouachita National Forest, spanning 192 miles across its length.

Approximately 177 miles of the trail is in Arkansas and 46 miles of the trail is in Oklahoma. The trail is used by hikers, backpackers, hunters, and mountain bikers. It is a non-motorized single track trail open only to foot traffic and partially open to mountain bicycles. Segments opened to mountain bikes are from the western terminus of the Ouachita Trail at Talimena State Park to the Big Cedar trailhead on US Highway 259 at approximately Mile Marker (MM) 30.5 in Oklahoma, and from the Talimena Scenic Drive Trailhead at MM 54.1, east to Highway 7 at mile 160.4, north of Jessieville, Arkansas.

The trail's western end is at Talimena State Park in southeastern Oklahoma, and the eastern end is at Pinnacle Mountain State Park in the small community of Natural Steps, Arkansas in central Arkansas. The first 192 miles (309 km) lie within the Ouachita National Forest; the remaining 31 miles (50 km), maintained by Pinnacle Mountain State Park, traverse lands owned by timber companies and Central Arkansas Water. (Plans for the Arkansas River Trail include an extension connecting the eastern terminus of the Ouachita Trail to downtown Little Rock 17 miles (27 km) away.) The trail passes through parts of eight counties in Arkansas and one in Oklahoma. From east to west they are Pulaski, Perry, Saline, Garland, Montgomery, Yell, Scott, and Polk, in Arkansas, and Le Flore County in Oklahoma, where the trail ends. At several locations the trails switches back between two counties. Scott County actually has very little of the trail, with a couple of small corners of the county traversed.

There are two federally designated wilderness areas that the Ouachita Trail passes through: the Flatside Wilderness Area in Perry and Saline Counties in Arkansas and the Upper Kiamichi River Wilderness Area in Le Flore County, Oklahoma."

Recommended number of days to complete: 14.00 Distance in miles or kilometres: 192 miles Shelters?: Yes Designated campsites?: Yes Number of designated campsites: 13 Permit Required?: No Trail Website: [Web Link] Best Season to Hike?: fall -- for the foliage Overnight parking fee: 5.00 (listed in local currency) Permit Fees?: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Intermediate Trailhead 1: N 34° 46.330 W 094° 52.316 Intermediate Trailhead 2: N 34° 39.626 W 094° 36.086 Intermediate Trailhead 3: N 34° 42.875 W 094° 40.779 Coordinates of the other end's trailhead: Not Listed Overnight parking coordinates: Not Listed Intermediate Trailhead 4: Not Listed Intermediate Trailhead 5: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
To log this waymark, you will require a photo of yourself or a member of your team at the trailhead. We would also appreciate a description of your visit to the trailhead, If you walked the trail, tell us about your experience, how long did it take you, did you do it solo, in a group? Please pass on any information useful to others who may choose to follow. The bottom line is tell us about your visit!

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   11/11/2017 Benchmark Blasterz visited it