Queen Wilhelmina State Park - Mena, Arkansas - State Park Featuring Queen Wilhelmina Lodge

Queen Wilhelmina State Park is located 13 miles west of Mena, Arkansas and is approximately 15 miles from Mena Intermountain Municipal Airport. If travelling from Mena visitors can take the Talimena Scenic Drive, anational scenic byway but during bad weather it is worthdrivingsix miles north on U.S. 71, then go nine miles west on U.S. 270 and two miles south up Ark. 272 to the park. The park features many attractions including an inn located on top of the 2,681 foot Rich Mountain, which is the second highest peak in Arkansas.

Queen Wilhelmina Lodge is dubbed the "Castle in the Sky'' and has been in existence since 1898. It has a total of 38 guest rooms including standard doubles, singles, Queen and King Rooms as well as an accessible room for two people. Guest room amenities generally include TV, coffee maker, iron and ironing board, alarm clock, wireless internet service and a bathroom.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at the hotel restaurant from 7am through to 9pm and room service is also available on a limited basis. The private dining room and patio area can be used for special occasions such as weddings, birthdays and anniversaries. Groups of 20 to 50 people can be accommodated at the hotel conference room, which has modern meeting and conference equipment available at no extra charge.

Visitors to the park preferring to stay outdoors throughout their stay can take advantage of the campsites here. There are 41 sites in total in three locations with the largest of them wheelchair accessible. All sites have showers, dump stations and capacity for group tents, whilst the largest site also offers water and electrical hook-up.

There are four trails for visitors to tackle here, which vary greatly in distance and difficulty. The easiest at just half a mile is the Spring Trail although this is just one way, whilst the Reservoir Trail is a three quarters of an hour round trip. Lover's Leap Trail is approximately one and a third miles long and provides great views of the mountains and the Ouachita National Forest, while the Ouachita Trail is 225 miles extending from Pinnacle Mountain State Park to Talimena State Park ear Talihina.

There is a lot of wildlife to be found in the Ouachita Mountain area with hunting a popular attraction here, and Ouachita is derived from an Indian word meaning good hunting. Animals such as deer, turkey, bear, fox, raccoons, opossums, ground hogs, chipmunks and gray squirrels are quite common here, and increasingly coyotes, armadillos and road runners are too. The park is a good area for bird watching too with eagles, turkey vultures and black vultures often seen here.

Near the entrance to the park visitors can ride a miniature train at the Southern Belle Depot, which opens between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The Talimena Scenic Drive offers some of the best scenic and historic routes in the county. It is a 54 mile road with glorious views and historic sites of early settlers, solders and Native Americans.