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Overall, compared to other national parks, Hot Springs experiences relatively mild weather as long as you’re pretty flexible in regards to the activities that you do and know the pros and cons of going during each season. This Hot Springs National Park guide has everything you need to organize your trip, as well as some bonus tips and tricks to make the most of your time when you visit. If you’re looking for a long weekend getaway where you can immerse yourself-not only in the beauty of nature but also in the pools of an old-school bathhouse! It can also easily be incorporated into an epic road trip where you can take in many of the best destinations of the central and southeastern United States. Today, you’ll find a developed town with oodles of options for dining, accommodations, and shopping. For others, it was a place to do some shady things. For some, it served as a place to be healed. Kennedy, Herbert Hoover, Babe Ruth, Al Capone, and Helen Keller. Some of the biggest names of the 20th century have been among them, including John F. Fountains throughout downtown spout the mineral-rich liquid.Visitors have been flocking to Hot Springs, Arkansas, for well over a century, thanks to the healing waters of the nearby thermal springs and the stunning mountain scenery. The panoramic views from atop the nearly 66-meter-high steel structure stretch for 225 kilometers.īefore you leave Hot Springs, be sure to fill up a container with the city’s signature spring water. Roosevelt, baseball legend Babe Ruth, singer/actress Barbra Streisand and gangster Al Capone (who favored Room 442).Īfter “taking the waters,” you may consider a jaunt up to Hot Springs Mountain Tower. Guests at the elegant 1924 landmark (the third incarnation of the hotel) have included former U.S. They include the Arlington Resort Hotel, which operates its own Thermal Water Spa. It includes a small man-made cave with walls that radiate the water’s heat to create steam. The early 1920s structure was built over a thermal spring.
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Swedish massages and manicures and pedicures are also available should you want a little extra pampering.Įnjoy an authentic Hot Springs spa experience at the Quapaw Baths and Spa.įor a more contemporary experience, the Quapaw Baths and Spa, also on Bathhouse Row, has private baths, four thermal pools and a host of spa services. It offers a traditional European-style bath ritual consisting of a 20-minute soak in an oversized tub filled with 38-degree-Celsius water, hot packs for up to 20 minutes, a 10-minute sitz bath and a brief session in a steam cabinet. One of the best-preserved bathhouses is the Buckstaff, thanks in part to the fact that it has operated continuously since 1912. The former Superior Bathhouse, for instance, now hosts a brewery and distillery that utilize the thermal water in its brews. Like the Fordyce, most of Hot Springs historic bathhouses have been repurposed. Visitors can also tour its grand third-floor music room and the gymnasium. Now, you can see exhibits in one of the former dressing rooms. The Fordyce Bathhouse closed in 1962, but found new life in 1989 when the National Park Service took up residence. When the three-story Edwardian structure in the center of Bathhouse Row was built in 1915, it was the largest and, with its marble walls and stained-glass skylights, arguably the most elegant. The town hosts live horse racing from late January through May at historic Oaklawn, and two annual music festivals: the Hot Springs Music Festival in June and the Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival in March.īathhouse Row, with its eight historic bathhouses, is a National Historic Landmark.īut the first stop on any visitor’s agenda should be the National Park visitor center and museum in the Fordyce Bathhouse.
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President Bill Clinton, Hot Springs has a quaint downtown historic district that is full of one-of-a-kind shops selling antiques, clothing, toys and more. There’s plenty to do in this town in central Arkansas, about an hour’s drive southwest of the capital city of Little Rock. Hot Springs National Park protects 47 hot springs found below the Earth’s surface in central Arkansas. Still others come to explore the park’s 40-plus kilometers of hiking trails and the gentle slopes of the Ouachita Mountains. Others come to take in the stately architecture of Bathhouse Row, where eight historic bathhouses (mostly constructed in the early 20th century) line Central Avenue. Some come for the thermal baths whose high mineral content is said to be therapeutic.
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More than 180 years later, the park - home to 47 hot springs whose waters bubble up from deep within the Earth - continues to draw visitors. Planning a trip to Arkansas? Find information, photos and more here.