The only hard part might be knowing where to start. Here then is a web tour of Kiamichi Country in Oklahoma for you. Check out all the fishing holes, consult with the towns along the way, and discover the roads that will reveal the best Kiamichi Country has to offer.

Remember Kiamichi is kind of square except for a handle reaching down from Green Country? Well, there just happens to be good scenic roads almost all the way around the edges of that square. From the Fort Smith, Arkansas, area you can catch State Highway 9 for a leisurely drive across the top of Kiamichi country, through Keota which started in 1903 as a tent town-trading post. Some say the name comes from the Indian word "Keota" meaning "fire gone out" but the fire is still there, burning as school spirit. After passing through Stigler to Eufaula Lake.

Hiway 9 connects with U.S 69 heading south right along Arrowhead State Park. A tad more than half of this 102,000 acre lake resort is in Green Country but Kiamichi Country has the best part. You'll connect with U.S. 75 which comes down from Indianola just after you pass McAlester in Pittsburg County between the shores of Eufaula Lake and the foothills of the Pine and Jackfork Mountains.

   When the road gets tough, you need a tough insurance.  Get a free insurance quote here with the very lowest price for your specific auto.

McAlester is one of Oklahoma's oldest communities. The city began as a trading post founded by J. J. McAlester in 1870 in the Choctaw Nation of Indian Territory. Today, McAlester is the economic hub of the entire southeast corner of the state.

Every Labor Day weekend, "Big Mac," as the nearby prison is known, hosts the world's largest rodeo held entirely behind prison walls. You'll be treated to a rare look at a maximum security correctional facility along with world-class rodeo action. Many of these contestants are teams of inmates representing correctional facilities across Oklahoma. You will love the events: "Tub Ride", "Money the Hard Way", "Double Mugging", "Wild Horse Races" and the bareback bronco and bull riding. If you're a rodeo purist, top-name PRCA contestants compete in timed events including steer wrestling, steer roping and calf roping.

BELLE STARR TOURS
Rt. 2 Box 281, Wilburton, Oklahoma 74578
Phone: 918-465-2784
Email: bobbiegayle@yahoo.com

LeFlore County is the Mountain Gateway, with links to Pocola, Spiro, Poteau (Home of the World's Highest Hill), Heavener, and Talihina.

Just east of McAlester there is a small town name of Krebs where you can find some of the best Italian food in the state. For a very reasonable price they promise you won't go away hungry. First they cover a huge platter with pasta, and you go from there, filling yourself to the bursting point. More than 2,000 Italian miners settled in Oklahoma's "Little Italy." The rich heritage of the Italian people who settled here lives on through these fine restaurants and McAlester's Italian Festival at the Pittsburg County Fairgrounds has huge attendance each Memorial Day weekend.

Hugo is next in line and it is the winter headquarters of both the five-ring Carson&Barnes Circus and its sister circus, the Kelly-Miller Bros. Circus. With over 50 years of circus tradition, Hugo is known as Circus City U. S. A. Beautiful Mt. Olivet Cemetery is here and its unique monuments of circus performers in the special Showman's Rest section set aside for "all the showmen under God's Big Top."

Now out of there we will shoot east on U.S. 70 which whips past Lake Hugo* where the Hugo Lake Rod Run is held. Open to pre-1960 cars, this event is fantastic for both owners and vintage car enthusiasts.

Continue on east to Idabel* whose annual events include Dogwood Days during the 1st weekend in April. The McCurtain County Rodeo and Oklahoma Championship Chuck Wagon Races send hearts racing with excitement, and the beautiful City of Lights Christmas Parade pops into view in December.

Settled in a peaceful valley on the banks of the upper Mountain Fork River, southeastern Oklahoma's newest getaway cabins await your next retreat to the scenic Kiamichi Mountains. Ideal accommodations for couples seeking to rekindle the fires of romance—perfect for families looking to build memories that will last a lifetime—The River's Edge has much to offer. 

Okay, keep going east on 70 till you reach Broken Bow -- strategically located at the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains. "Whether you choose to enjoy the recreational activities of the Broken Bow Lake or the quiet scenery of the areas forests, the citizens of Broken Bow invite you to make a pit-stop here!"

U.S. 70 weasels out of Broken Bow east over into Arkansas. You'll change hiways to head north. The last leg of the tour is the east border of Kiamichi where you are served first by the majestic switchbacked Hiway 259. Beavers Bend is coming up in 7 miles. This is a definite pit-stop for the whole family. It has train rides, trail rides, hay rides, etc. You'll find 14,240 acres of lake, plus 3,482 acres of park, a 40 room lodge, 47 cabins, 8 camping areas with a total of 393 campsites and is known for its trout fishing and water skiing. Continuing on north you will change over to Hiway 59 after you pass Big Cedar in the Ouachita National Forest.

While you're this close, there just ain't no excuse for missing the Talimena Scenic Byway pouring through the Ouachita National Forest. From Talimena to Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas, the 54 miles of Byway thrills the senses with breathtaking scenery, honeysuckle, woods, the crest of Winding Stair and Rich Mountains.

The Fall months find The River's Edge brilliantly laced with color. The hardwoods boast of gold, red, and violet during Autumn, with the Pine and Holly providing a year-round splash of green. The Talimena Scenic Drive, a mountain top drive extending from Talihina, Oklahoma, to Mena, Arkansas, lies only a half-hour drive across the majestic Kiamichi Mountains to the north, and is a must-see during October through early November.  More scenery abounds to the south at Broken Bow Lake, in and around Beavers Bend State Park, forty minutes away. 

Back on the road again you'll find Heavener, once known as Choctaw City, is your next stop along Hiway 59. 33,428 acre Lake Wister State Park has 15 cabins with fireplaces, 5 camping areas, 172 campsites and a 2,000 acre Waterfowl Refuge. Lake Wister holds 4000 acres of water.

Don't by golly miss the Heavener Rune stone with its writings left there by the Vikings a few centuries before Columbus got up enough nerve to try the same trip.

Okay, our little web tour has gone all the way around Kiamichi Country with pit-stops at all the corners and important points along the way. You’ve just scratched the surface.

Okay, back to the rocket so we can surf inside this square. By going clockwise you will find Talihina, Broken Bow Reservoir, Pine Creek Reservoir, Antlers, Clayton, Sardis Reservoir, Wilburton, being sure to visit Robbers Cave State Park while you are there, Arrowhead State Park, Stigler, Haskell, Poteau, Wister Reservoir, back through Talimena State Park to Talihina where we started.

Talihina   rests snugly in the valley of Buffalo Mountain, the Ouachitas, and the Potato Hills. With it's scenic drives, outdoor recreation, and down home charm, Talihina has an exciting adventure for you.

For an overall picture of what you will find in the area, Red River Internet of Oklahoma and the Kiamichi Country web page serve this region well. On each of these pages you'll find links to the best attractions and finest companies in the area, including Beavers Bend Resort Park, the Southeast corner of Oklahoma, home of Beavers Bend state park, lakes Broken Bow, Pine Creek, Hugo, Sardis, and Poteau. Together these two sites provide a vast resource of good, clean connections to Kiamichi Country.

The Tickled Pink Guest Ranch.   This is a beautiful site with great pictures and great descriptions.

 Camping and Outdoor Supplies
Everything from binoculars and camp stoves to Colloidal Silver and potassium iodate, CampingSurvival.com offers the widest selection of camping and survival supplies and equipment at the lowest prices!

If you have appreciated this portion please book mark this page
because you will love the rest of the Oklahoma Super Vacation Sites

Good Old Guthrie   *  The 2007 State Fair  *  Places to see in Oklahoma City  *  The Oklahoma City Zoo  *  The Omniplex of Oklahoma City  *  Red Earth  *  Old Tractors of Oklahoma  *  Cedar Lake   *  Welcome page *  Birds of Fall  *   Oklahoma Videos  *   Outdoor Links *  Best Places to visit *   Regions of Oklahoma * Frontier Country  *  Cities of Oklahoma * Green Country *  Native Americans *  Cowboys  *  Rodeos of Oklahoma  *  Louise Serpa, rodeo photographer  * Robbers Cave *  Beavers Bend Recreation *  The Heavener Runestone  *  The Spiro Mounds  *  Medieval Fair  *  Turner Falls  *  Norman Events  *  Sweet Times At Sulphur   *  Lake Thunderbird  *  Oklahoma Information Station * Native American Business Help *  A new breed of cows * WildCare for Animals * Sports *   Weather * Newspapers *  Countr y Music Stars  *   Genealogy *  Oklahoma Places * Special People of Oklahoma * Business Stories *  Schools *  Books of Oklahoma * Recreation *   Tornadoes   * Noble * Purcell * wholesale land and property * Riding Horses * The Award given to sites listed here  *  Ghosts in Oklahoma?  *  Build and promote your personal web site.  *  The Trip Through No Man's Land  *  Oklahoma Trails  *  The Peter Conser House  *  Oklahoma Homesteading  *  Smithville, area of charm, legacy and greatness   *  Oklahoma, as it USED TO BE  *  Click HERE if you have an Oklahoma site you want me to review.  Get your own cap, shirt, or travel mug and Share Oklahoma with everyone you meet. 

Black Mesa State Park  *  Great Salt plains  *  American Horse Lake   *  Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge  *  Greenleaf State Park  *  Ouachita Recreation Trail 

Tell us about YOUR town or community and we'll add it along shortly.  I am especially interested in creating links to the very best web sites about each community, in ANY state.

Do you know any great stories about wonderful places?  Please tell us about all the Stranger-Friendly Vacation Sites In Oklahoma that you know about.  We want to link to them, for free.  Do you want to have your own web site?  We can make one.