Hot Springs, AR – Located about 55 miles southwest of Little Rock, Arkansas, Hot Springs was established by an act of Congress as a federal reserve on April 20,1832. As such it is the oldest federally preserved land managed by the National Park Service. Congress changed the reserve designation to national park on March 4,1921 after the National Park Service was established in 1916. Hot Springs is the smallest and only national park in an urban area and is located in the Zig Zag Mountains on the eastern edge of the Ouachita Mountains. The park is based around natural hot springs that flow out of the low lying Ouachita Mountains. The springs provide opportunities for relaxation in an historic setting.
There are many hot springs in Hot Springs National Park
This pool collects water from the Hot Water Cascade at Arlington Lawn
Bathhouse Row preserves numerous examples of 19th-century architecture. We toured the former Fordyce Bathhouse that is now the park visitor center where you can walk through 23 restored rooms furnished as they appeared in the spa’s heyday. The Fordyce Bathhouse opened in 1915 and is classified as Renaissance Revival architecture. With its copper framed glass marquee and elegant window design it is considered a crowning achievement in the Golden Age of Bathing when over a million visitors a year immersed themselves in the park’s hot waters. Flowering magnolias give Bathhouse Row a special beauty, particularly in early summer. The Buckstaff and Quapaw bathhouses are still open to the public.
The Hot Springs National Park Visitor Center is the former Fordyce Bathhouse
La Mar Bathhouse houses the park gift shop
The Quapaw Bathhouse is still open to the public
Buckstaff is the other bathhouse still open to the public
The Ozark Bathhouse building is the cultural center
Old documents show that American Indians knew about and bathed in the hot springs in the 1700’s and early 1800’s. Some believe the traces of minerals and an average temperature of 143°F give the waters whatever therapeutic properties they may have. People also drink the water from the cold springs, which have different chemical properties and components. Scientists have determined that the waters emerging from the hot springs are over 4,000 years old. The park collects over 700,000 gallons a day for use in public drinking fountains and bathhouses. Various open springs and the Hot Water Cascade above Arlington Lawn show how the area looked 200 years ago, before anyone ever built a bathhouse. All of the steam produced by the hot springs gave rise to the vicinity’s nickname, “Valley of the Vapors”.
Steam cabinets on display in the visitor center
Controls in the hydrotherapy room
Inside a bath area
Bath controls in the men’s bath
Stained glass ceiling window in the Fordyce men’s bath
The men’s bath also features a statue of De Soto, believed to have led the first European expedition that discovered the hot springs
Cooling Room on display at Fordyce
Hot Springs National Park also offers 30 miles of bucolic trails. Music Mountain is the highest point in the park and the center of a great horseshoe shaped ridge whose ends are Sugarloaf and West mountains. Dense forests of oak, hickory, and short leaf pine dominate this region. Flowering trees are common here and consecutive seasons have displays of colored leaves and abundant flowers. The redbud and dogwood bloom in the early spring, gracing the understory of the pine and hardwood forest. Songbirds and small animals are abundant in the forest.
Access to several walking trails and the Grand Promenade from Bathhouse Row
Take a stroll on the Grand Promenade or one of the park’s trails
Picnic Area on the Hot Springs Mountain Drive
A fun find in the town of Hot Springs National Park at 120 Central Avenue between Fountain Street and Whittington Avenue was Fat Bottomed Girl’s Cupcake Shoppe. Their baker has competed on “Cupcake Wars” and their cupcakes are delicious. We stayed in our RV in the nearby Cloud Nine RV Park.
Cupcakes from Fat Bottomed Girl’s Cupcake Shoppe
