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Hot Springs National Park

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BurliBear
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
6
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Great Trails in the Area

  • March 16, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by bedmond from Dallas, Texas
The resort has many trails that run all over the many acres it owns. It's a great way to spend a morning walking through nature or just a nice walk after dinner. You could literally walk to the lakes, golf courses, restaurants and almost anything else you need. It's a wonderful place to be in the outdoors without worrying about getting lost because you can always find your way back with the helpful signs.

From journal Week in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Editor Pick

Hot Springs National Park

  • December 1, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by two cruisers from Ames, Iowa
Hot Springs National Park

This is truly the most unique National Park we have visited. No entrance gate with a friendly ranger handing you a strict list of rules. No gravel parking lots. No log cabin style lodges. In fact it is nearly impossible to tell when you have entered the park because the primary part of it is situated in downtown Hot Springs.

What this park does is celebrate that humans are attracted to water, especially water that presents itself in a unique way. Area rainfall seeps deep into the earth through rock fractures. The deeper it goes the hotter it gets eventually it meets rock fissures that drive the water up to the lower west slope of Hot Springs Mountain. American Indians came to this steamy spot for healing. Fernando Desoto’s exploration party wintered here. Thomas Jefferson sent a team to investigate it. Word got out and soon frame and canvas bathhouses sprang up. The area began to draw wealthier clientele, so the services became grander and more luxurious. That brings us to the main attraction of the National Park…Bathhouse Row.

Eight remaining bathhouses stand shoulder to shoulder on Central Avenue with their backs to the slopes of Hot Springs Mountain. Only one, the elegant Fordyce, has been completely restored (to circa 1915) for touring and serves as the visitor center (you will see a Park Ranger there). The Buckstaff is still an active bathhouse. Four other bathhouses are in neighboring hotels. And as for that lack of gravel parking lot… well Hot Springs has one of the grandest parking ramps I have ever seen. The walk that connects it to Central Avenue is a sculpture and fountain park. Behind bathhouse row is the Grand Promenade and several walking trails. In the Fall this is gorgeous. Thermal fountains are available for you to collect your own water. Behind the Maurice Bathhouse are some display springs to give you an idea of what it might have looked like to the early people.

Across the street from the Bathhouse Row are shops and restaurants. Area tours are offered aboard the amphibious Ducks. It is a happy area. But if you feel cheated out of that normal National Park atmosphere, don’t give up hope. This park also has mountainous roads to drive and trails to hike on Hot Springs Mountain and West Mountain. There is an observation tower and overlooks, too.

From journal Arkansas - Leaf Peeping

Editor Pick

Hot Springs National Park

  • April 7, 2006
  • Rated 4 of 5 by callen60 from Ozarks, Missouri
Hot Springs National Park

After the visitor center, we headed out to the rest of the park. My youngest daughter was equipped with her junior ranger guide, which asked her to identify architectural features from each bathhouse. We didn’t need an excuse to stroll down Central Avenue, but we had one. There’s a variety of styles here, from vaguely Arabian to classical Roman. The exteriors are still in good shape, and Central is a great tree-lined street to walk.

After a little shopping at the variety of stores across the street, we returned to the park. Starting at the north end of Bathhouse Row, three of us took the Peak Trail to the top of Hot Springs Mountain. It was a little over a half-mile, and fairly steep in places. (You can also drive to the top of this modest 1100-foot mountain, but we felt better having done it the old-fashioned way.) There’s not a lot of elevation gain, but you still get a nice vista out into the surrounding area. At about an hour before sunset on a clear spring day, it was especially pretty.

You’re never far away from civilization on this mountain. Trails and roads criss-cross the mountain and each other. In fact, the whole face of the mountain has been remade: the surface was originally bare tufa (the solidified residue from the spring water). The hillside was thoroughly covered with dirt, shrubs and trees in the 1800s, resulting in today’s apparently natural, wooded appearance. Nonetheless, the hillside is a nice place to hike. We were alone on the trails, and in late afternoon, the parking areas at the top were also mostly empty.

We stopped in at the lobby/gift shop of Observation Tower ($6 for adults for a ride to the top) at the relatively broad, flat summit and then headed down. We took the Shortcut Trail to the Dead Chief Trail: a really steep descent that lands you at the south end of Bathhouse Row. Behind the bathhouses is the Grand Promenade, a broad, tiled walkway along the foot of the mountain, which is worth strolling. The locked green boxes that dot the nearby landscape are the springs, covered to prevent contamination. A few years ago, one was more or less re-excavated to provide an idea of what these natural sources were like. This isn’t like the hot springs in Banff or other places, where the spring pools—or man-made constructions for their output—hold bathers under the sunny skies. Nearly all the waters are piped into the houses below the slope, and have been for decades.

With the sun setting, we returned to our car, and started looking for somewhere to eat. We planned to return briefly in the morning, perhaps to hike, drive to the top of West Mountain, or explore Gulpha Gorge. Unfortunately, the weather was cold and rainy, and after a brief stop at the Visitor Center to induct Hot Springs’ newest Junior Ranger, we headed northeast to Little Rock.

From journal Spring Break in Arkansas

Natural Springs Bath's

  • August 20, 2005
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Lajennifer from Allen, Texas
You can take a natural springs bath and relax at many of the hotels on the main street. It has LOTS of shopping. You start on one end of the street, and when you get to the end, take the other side of the street. Both are packed with shops, restaurants, and bath houses.

From journal Relaxing in Hot Springs, AR

Hot Springs National Park

  • June 18, 2005
  • Rated 4 of 5 by JoeM from Manassas, Virginia
Hot Springs National Park

During the day, the downtown is bustling with like a typical tourist town - people hawking tours, timeshares, and who knows what else to those walking up and down the streets. Many little shops are opposite the park buildings. The park buildings are the preserved bath houses and form a boulevard. This park was set aside by the Federal Government in the 1830s and became a NP in the 1920s.

From downtown, we hiked along the Promenade and saw views of the buildings and visited an open spring. Water was hot (120F+), as promised. Surprisingly, the hot water is not a result of a volcano but simply cracks in the earth that let it escape from deep down. We hiked around the top of the mountain. At night, the downtown is very quiet and pleasant to walk around.

From journal Exploring the Hot Springs Arkansas Region

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