Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas

Crown Jewel of the Ouachita Mountains

It's no coincidence that there is a royal view from the top of the second highest peak in Arkansas because the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge has commanded a fantastic view from the site for more than a century. Rich Mountain rises above the other rugged mountains of the Ouachitas in southern Arkansas and is topped by the current Queen Wilhelmina State Park. The state park is one of a few in Arkansas that offer state owned lodging facilities and the tradition of excellence began when the first lodge opened in 1898.

The site was developed by the Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Gulf Railroad as a summer resort for the affluent in the last years of the 19th century. Hopes were that the new resort would soon rival popular summer destinations of the rich such as the Rocky Mountains and Saratoga Springs. Although the first name given to the project dubbed the hotel "The Mount Mena Inn", the name was soon changed to honor Holland's reigning monarch - Queen Wilhelmina.

Developers hoped that the Queen would come to the United States to visit her namesake hotel but the visit never materialized. Despite her absence, the three story lodge opened with a gala ball on the evening of June 22, 1898 with a live orchestra. The dining room seated up to 300 guests at one time and the massive ovens in the kitchens could bake as many as 500 biscuits at one time. The original Queen Wilhelmina Lodge offered every Victorian ammenity - stables with both fine horses and sure-footed burros that could navigate the crude mountain trails, croquet courts, and gaslight. Servants were available on site for the ladies who left their own staff at home. Domestic flowers from the hotel's gardens mingled with wildflower blossoms in the daily bouquets that decorated the dining tables and the meals served were the finest cuisine. Guests arrived from as far distant as Kansas City to spend the summer in the cool, quiet mountain retreat.