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SUGGESTIONS FOR HOT SPRINGS AREA

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amvince

amvince

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Joined
Sep 7, 2009
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Location
Aubrey, TX
First Name
Peter
Last Name
D'Addario
Heading for Mena for 2 days and then to Hot Springs for 4 days/ and I am wondering if anybody has any suggestions on routes, things to visit etc. I am leaving from Frisco in case anybody has a good scenic route for gettiing to that area.
 
Thanks if it is easier you can email me. I sent a pm with my email

Pete
 
you might double check the condition of the roads, up there

i just heard, "they say", the talimena ridge drive is under construction and mostly gravel

"they, also, say" the lodge is closed for remodeling

might save you some time

shiny side up
 
When piddling around Hot Springs remember to ride the little Blacksnake Road West out to the Blakely Dam.
 
Go on up to Petit Jean park and check out the auto museum...Lots of good roads in the area...Visitor Centers are your friend...
 
EdSidders said:
Go on up to Petit Jean park and check out the auto museum...Lots of good roads in the area...Visitor Centers are your friend...
Click to expand...

Yep Petit Jean is nice bought my 54 Chevy out of the museum years ago


If you want a twisty narrow bit of paved fun try 298 between 5 & 9 not real
long only about 20 miles but it will test you. I lived at one end of it for 10 years
It was my warm up and wind down to every ride.
 
Assume you are planning to ride the Talimena trail. Take the back roads up rather than US75 north. The Kiamichi Trace - US271 - runs from Antlers to near Tuskahoma. It's not a bad ride. For more fun, take 144 off the Kiamichi and then turn north on the Indian Hwy, which will deposit you back on 271 more or less in Talihina.

To get to Antlers, I take 121 to Bonham, then 82 to Paris, 271 north to Hugo, and then the Indian Nation Turnpike to Antlers. It's worth the toll - a buck or so for a motorbike - to blast across the flatboringland. Substitute backroads for these main highways if you have more ambition or time.

There are many possibilities from Mena to Hot Springs depending on how many miles you want to ride. A middle of the road possibility that I have ridden and like is US71 north from Mena, then 28 east to Rover. North on 28 to Danville, then pickup 10 west. Take 309 up and over Mt. Magazine. The lodge on top is a nice stop for a meal or just something to drink. Then head back down the mountain - either direction will do - and take 22 or 10 east to 7. South on 7 directly into Hot Springs. This route will have you arriving by mid-afternoon at the latest.

I don't have any real suggestions on routing from Hot Springs back to DFW, I haven't found anything of particular merit.
 
We've been doing Arkansas for years. If this is any help, here's our current approach when we go there a few times a year. We never stay at QW any more. There are several cabin-rentals a few miles south of Mena on 77. They're great and you don't have to put up with the bad food, endless motorhome generators, and retirees all hanging out on top. We usually stop in Mena because that's about 10 hours from San Antonio, so finding the rental cabins was a blessing for us.

Get north of Mena as fast as possible. You can't find a bad road in the north-west corner of Ark. I'd stay OFF the PigTrail and Hwy 7. The cops don't need to patrol the PT because the pirate parade keeps it pretty much shut down. Hwy 7 is patroled, I haven't been on it in the last 5-7 years without seeing at least one cop.

On the up side, just get an Arkansas state map and focus on that northwest quadrant. BTW, stay out of Eureka Springs on the weekend. Its an awesome little town, but its extremely congested when in season.

Hope this helps...
 
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