We can't say enough good things about our trip to Mena. We're from Austin and had never been to Arkansas before. We came for a long fall weekend to see fall color and enjoy the mountains. It was exactly what we'd hoped for. The cottage was perfect for our family of 4. We want to come back with extended family and rent all 3 cottages. The decor is perfect and comfortable.We loved the porches and rocking chairs. So many trees and the views are beautiful. It was hard to leave.Our kids are 3 1/2 & 6, and we were a little worried about the stairs to their bedroom, but the stairs were completely lit at night and safe. We brought the kids' bikes and they rode around the long paved driveways. The owners were friendly and helpful when booking, and since we had everything we needed while there, we never had to contact them during our stay.
Here's what we did in Mena:
*Drive the Talimena scenic byway up to Queen Wilhelmina State Park. Pretty drive with lots of vistas. The park was great to spend a couple hours. There's a lodge with a small restaurant. We did the Lovers Leap hiking trail (1 mile loop) and then did the Miniature train with the kids. The train opens at 10am even on Sunday. There's also a huge black steam engine that you can get on for photos.
*Rent an ATV! It was awesome! We rented a 4 seater Polaris from Hawk's Overlook. The owner, Kevin was super friendly and accommodating. He gave us a map and showed us all the trails to take. He also let us use an air hose to blow off dust after our day. We packed a picnic and spent 7 hours out in the Wolf Pen gap trail area in the middle of the national forest. We visited Little Missouri Falls and picnicked there. There are places to swim if you bring swimsuits and Keens. It was our first ATV experience: we brought bike helmets for the kids and sunglasses. Wish we'd had bandanas for our faces-maybe even ski goggles/dust masks if you have them. Bring water and towels/wipes to clean off. We've never been so dirty.
*We cooked all our meals except one breakfast and dinner. We ate a nice, smalltown Southern/steak dinner at The Branding Iron--good margaritas. We ate breakfast at Skyline Cafe--your normal diner fare, inexpensive and friendly staff. The grocery store in Mena had the basics and a nice lunchmeat counter with Boar's Head meats.
*There looked to be a couple cute antique/art shops in Mena, but we didn't go into any of them.
Seven hours from Austin for a real taste of Fall?...We'll be back next year!