Rumor has it that infamous outlaw, Jesse James, once made a hideout out of the 1851 log cabin in Mena's Janssen Park.
With the many parks, lakes and streams, as well as the Ouachita National Forest, you won't want to hide away in Mena, AR, but get out to enjoy the natural beauty here! To be sure, Arkansas isn't called the "Natural State" for nothin'
Rumor has it that infamous outlaw, Jesse James, once made a hideout out of the 1851 log cabin in Mena's Janssen Park.
With the many parks, lakes and streams, as well as the Ouachita National Forest, you won't want to hide away in Mena, AR, but get out to enjoy the natural beauty here! To be sure, Arkansas isn't called the "Natural State" for nothin'. Case in point is the Talimena Scenic Drive, a top tourist attraction, with its jaw-dropping mountain and water views that go on for miles -- 54 miles, in fact! With all of this natural beauty, and all of the country music you can handle, we can't blame you if you want to be Polk folk -- that's Polk County, where Mena is located. So, start practicing those Southern style "y'alls," By'all!
Y'all will need some cowboy boots to successfully move to Mena, or you may be refused entry. (Okay, we totally made that up, but this is Arkansas after all, not highfalutin' New York City.) In terms of securing an apartment to rent, you may need a slightly fatter wallet to start out, since landlords here might charge a few dollars to process your credit information, in addition to a damage deposit that's typically equal to the amount of the first month's rent.
Month-to-month rental property availability varies here, but don't expect to find apartment complex rentals as plentiful as fleas on a hound dog! Since this is popular tourist country, vacation housing is part of the "for rent" real estate market in Mena. You'll have to do your research when looking for a rental apt in Mena, to weed out the the long-term apartment rentals from the short-term vacation properties. In a 6.8-square-mile town, vacancies tend to go fast!
There's no reason to be as scared as a long-tailed cat in a roomful of rocking chairs though, even though Mena is too small to be more than a neighborhood itself. A good area to start if you're having trouble finding rentals such as all bills paid, smaller studio and one-bedroom apartments in Mena, is Janssen Avenue. The Janssen Avenue and Morrow Street areas have some one-story apartment complexes with parking spaces in front of each unit. If you're fixin' to get a two-bedroom apartment for rent, check out Cherry Street off of Eagle Gap Avenue. You're likely to find three-bedroom houses rented out throughout the town and these are mostly one-level ranch-style homes with two baths. Mena also offers some four-bedroom homes in the rental market.
When it comes to markets, you'll find lots of grocery and home supply stores here and the Northside Shopping Center also houses a variety of businesses and restaurants. Speaking of restaurants, get yerself to downtown Mena to the Skyline Cafe, the oldest eatery here, to experience a 1940s small town feeling while chowing down on burgers or grits and eggs. Walking around Mena is fun, but a vehicle is needed to get around outside the town and of course for driving the Talimena Scenic Drive in the fall when the leaves change color. In the summer, head over to the lakes in the Ouachita National Forest for swimming, fishing and boating. Mena is a town for all seasons!
