223 miles across the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma, from Talimena State Park to Pinnacle Mountain State Park.
“223 miles across the Ouachita Mountains from Talimena State Park to Pinnacle Mountain State Park, no permit and no fee, 23 shelters along the way.”
Plan your Ouachita Trail trip here, then get your permit from the agency.
Walk-up permit
OT is issued by the agency rather than through a booking calendar. Their page has the current process and any dates.
Official permit pagePlanning another trip? See the permits we alert on.
Talimena State Park (western terminus)
Western terminus on Highway 271 near Talihina, Oklahoma; Segment 01 begins here and heads into the Winding Stair National Recreation Area.
4 of 4 places in this section
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Landmark · Talimena State Park – Queen Wilhelmina
MI 51.6 · ≈2,569 ft
State park lodge with restaurant and rooms with hot showers, a popular resupply stop; camping inside the park boundary is restricted to the campground.
Terrain USGS 3DEP · Water USGS NHD · Trail © OpenStreetMap contributors
As of November 2026, OT in Ouachita Trail, Arkansas requires a permit issued via walk-up. OT rates 4/10 on PermitSnag's demand index. The OT route covers 223 miles.
Get this permit in person at the trailhead or ranger station, or by phone.
Official permit page →This permit is not sold online. Confirm where and when it is issued (and any fee) at U.S. Forest Service before your trip.
Walk-up permits are issued first-come, first-served. Where the agency sets a daily quota, popular trailheads can run out on weekends and holidays.
Popular trailheads fill fast. Know alternate routes or dates.
More on OT: Live availability activityOuachita Trail permit itinerary
Guides: OT permit guide
OT permit fee: Free; no permit required.
223 miles across the Ouachita Mountains from Talimena State Park to Pinnacle Mountain State Park, no permit and no fee, 23 shelters along the way.
223 miles across the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas and Oklahoma, from Talimena State Park to Pinnacle Mountain State Park: 192 miles across the Ouachita National Forest, per the Forest Service, plus another 32 to Pinnacle Mountain. There is no fee and no permit or reservation system for the trail. Trailhead registration boxes ask hikers to sign in for safety tracking, but that is not an issued permit and carries no quota.
From Talimena State Park the trail crosses Rich Mountain at its 2,610-foot high point on the Arkansas-Oklahoma line, runs through Queen Wilhelmina State Park, and continues east past the Forest Service's mapped end near Perryville to Pinnacle Mountain State Park west of Little Rock.
The Forest Service does not gate this trail with a permit system, but it does warn hard about water: some segments have no dependable source at all, so the trailhead sign-in boxes exist for safety tracking, not access control.
Best for: Experienced hikers with excellent fitness and relevant technical skills.
Recommended experience: Should have completed 10+ mile day hikes with significant elevation gain.
Not confirmed in the research bundle; check current Forest Service conditions before you go.
Trailhead (≈1,024 ft)
As of Nov 11
Backcountry Tips
Tue
73°
52°
Wed
75°
56°
Thu
63°
49°
Fri
63°
43°
Sat
57°
42°
Sun
57°
40°
61%
Mon
47°
39°
46%
Emergency contacts, ranger station locations, and satellite communicator tips for OT.
Bear canister requirements, approved container lists, and rental locations for this permit.
Gear Checklist: Required and recommended gear for OT · Shuttle Services: Trailhead transportation options · Guide Services: Experienced wilderness guides
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No. The U.S. Forest Service page for the trail states there is no fee, and no permit or reservation system covers the route -- confirmed by an empty Recreation.gov search for the trail on 2026-09-26.
The Forest Service's own trail page states 192 miles across the Ouachita National Forest, plus 32 additional miles on other land to reach Pinnacle Mountain State Park -- commonly rounded to about 223 miles end to end.
It begins at Talimena State Park on Highway 271 near Talihina, Oklahoma, and the Forest-Service-maintained section ends south of Perryville, Arkansas on Highway 9; an additional unmapped stretch continues to Pinnacle Mountain State Park, 15 miles west of Little Rock.
Rich Mountain, at trail mile 46.3 on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line, at 2,610 feet -- the Forest Service's segment guide's stated high point.
Yes. Friends of the Ouachita Trail (FoOT), the trail association, lists 23 open-sided trail shelters spaced along the route, from Rock Garden at mile 9.4 to Scott Tarvin Shelter at mile 210.2.
The Forest Service's own segment guide asks hikers to sign in at registration boxes at trailheads for safety tracking, but this is not an issued permit and carries no quota.
No. The Forest Service's segment guides repeatedly warn of long dry stretches -- for example, 'the only dependable water on this section is what you begin with' between miles 51.8 and 58.5, and only one possible water source across all of Segment 05 (miles 68.1-85.0), at mile 74.2.
Groups of more than 75 people camping in the Ouachita National Forest need a special use permit from the nearest Ranger District office; there is no Ouachita-specific published limit for smaller backpacking groups.
Parts of it. The Forest Service states the trail is 'open to foot traffic only for 55 miles' while '137 miles is now open to both mountain bikes and foot traffic,' specifically from the western Oklahoma boundary to the Big Cedar trailhead (mile 30.5) and from the Talimena Scenic Drive crossing near Queen Wilhelmina (mile 54.1) east to a Highway 7 trailhead at mile 160.4.
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