10/20/2026
The Ouachita National Recreation Trail starts at Talihina in southeastern Oklahoma and runs 223 miles east into Arkansas. The Oklahoma section alone covers some of the most rugged and spectacular terrain in the state, following the ridgelines of the Ouachita Mountains through dense pine and hardwood forest that few people outside the region know exists.
Talihina sits at the western trailhead, a small LeFlore County town that serves as the gateway into this wilderness. From there the trail climbs immediately and doesn't apologize for it. The ridges in this section offer views south across the Kiamichi River valley that most Oklahomans have never seen, even though they're technically in the same state as the panhandle wheat fields and Red River mudflats.
Fall is when the trail is at its most spectacular. The mixed forest of shortleaf pine, red oak, black gum, and sassafras goes into full color starting in mid-October, and the ridgeline walks give you the kind of 360-degree autumn panorama that normally requires a plane ticket somewhere in New England.
Backpackers do the whole trail over multiple days. Day hikers can access any number of trailheads for shorter segments. Either way, this is a trail that rewards the people who make the drive to Talihina.
AI-generated historical illustrations; not original photographs or footage.
