Talimena State Park — Attraction in Le Flore

As with all the Oklahoma state parks..... none are 1st come/served ( as in let's swing by and see if anything is available) and only available as online reservations with 24 hrs advance.

We tried to get in the Talimena State park yesterday 3 Nov 2022 pulled in at 503 pm, saw a sign said pick an empty site, pay online.

It's a tiny park with many 10-12 rv sites and 3 were unoccupied.

We pulled in an empty site, walked to the office to ask about paying as you can't do it online the day you get there and the woman was pre occupied in the office performing inventory kneeling on the floor.

I knocked on the window, she responded WERE CLOSED!

I explained that we just arrived, saw the sign about pick a site and pay online but IT WILL NOT LET ME.

She says... well, we're full thru Monday and I'm CLOSED.

We decided screw it... I'm pulling in and camping until someone shows up with proof of reservation... and I'll happily leave.

The office/ host is terrible.

It's 10-12 sites to put a piece of paper on the site number that's got a clip board on each site.

Not sure why the state pays this host. There's no toilet paper in restrooms, they are a disgusting mess, nothing is updated and she's just rude as hell.

The problem is little to no cell phone service at these outlying campgrounds. No way to make an immediate payment and an employee with no skills for the job.

Keep your little miss...

Last weekend, we camped in tent campsite #1 which was spacious and located adjacent to the trailhead of the Ouachita Trail. The park’s restrooms & showers were clean and had hot water. The camp host was very friendly and helped-us find our campsite and pointed-out the local attractions. The camp host said the park has city water, so it was reassuring to know that the water was safe to drink. The state park is small and felt the other tent campsites were smallish, (especially since we have a large tent & canopy) but from exploring the park: there are 2 tent campsites (#8 & 9) which are located on the back of the property and can only be reserved by calling the camp office, (aka they are not listed in the on-line reservation system). Tent campsite #8 offers greater privacy and is the only campsite in the park that offers a view of the valley.

For activities: we hiked part of the Ouachita Trail (adjacent to our campsite), drove on the Talimena Scenic Drive, hiked Lovers Leap Trail in Queen Wilhelmina State Park and visited the Viking Runestone in Heavener Runestone Park.

We enjoyed our stay, though Talimena State Park is also extensively used by off road motorcycles & ATVs so it was not a tranquil experience when ~8 ATV’ers decided to rev-up their engines and explore the trails at 9pm. Going forward, if I see an ATV logo on the park map will plan to stay...

We spent a couple nights tent camping at Talimena State Park. It is located at the start of the Oachita Trail, and a couple minutes from the scenic highway 1. It's the perfect location if you are looking to stay close to and explore the Oachita Mountains. We recommend tent site 1 as it is more spacious than the other sites, which are close together on the side of the hill. Tent pads are 10'x10' and not all sites have room to set up elsewhere if your tent doesn't fit. Parking is shared on the road so there are no reserved spaces for the tent sites. Keep in mind that this camp is a little unique. First, it's located right off the highway at the top of a hill which means you'll hear those logging trucks roaring up the hill. Second, there are lots of ATV enthusiasts that use this campground as base camp. There is a lot of ATV traffic and noise in the mornings and evenings. Overall Talimena state park is great for what it is - an easy way to gain quick access to the Oachita's....