This is the 41stNational Park we have visited! With a total of 49 National Parks in the continental US, we hope to see the remaining 8 in the next few years. But I digress…Hot Springs is the smallest (5,500 acres) of the 61 National Parks in the entire United States. But, we found that it has so much more to offer than I had expected!
The unique hot springs (47 of them with an average temperature of 143 degrees F) have attracted people to this area for centuries. This land was part of the Louisiana Purchase (1803) and President Thomas Jefferson dispatched a group to explore the area the following year to investigate the hot springs. In 1832, the government set aside land here as the first US reserve to "protect natural resources.” In 1921, it was renamed a National Park.
A string of bathhouses was built over the years to provide access to the thermal waters (assumed to have healing powers). People came to not only enjoy the hot springs, but to also drink the water (assumed to have healing properties). In the Golden Age of Bathing (early 1900s), over a million visitors a year came to Hot Springs. Bathhouse Row is in the urban setting of the town of Hot Springs, AR. Free parking is available for visitors in a multi-story garage a block across the street from Bathhouse Row. (Just following the signs to find it.)
Located on Central Avenue, the Fordyce Bathhouse (operational from 1915 to 1962) was restored and reopened as the park’s Visitor Center in 1989.
Ranger-led or self-guided tours of Fordyce Bathhouse provide insight to the bathing experience at this and other bathhouses. It involved a tub bath, hot/cold packs, steam cabinet, sitz bath, needle shower, and massage.
Only two of the bathhouses are operational today: Buckstaff has operated continuously since 1912 and the Quapaw Baths (originally opened in 1922; renovated and reopened as a modern spa in 2008).
The Lamar Bathhouse (1923) is now the Bathhouse Row Emporium where you can purchase bathhouse-related gifts and National Park service items.
Interested in some hiking time with our sweet doggie, Sadie, we followed the walkway to the rear of the bathhouses where steps led to the Grand Promenade.
This small fountain is one of six in the park where visitors can enjoy water from the mineral springs.
This is one of the two hot springs that is open. All others have been capped to protect them from contamination and to protect people from getting burned. It’s hot!! The water quality is monitored and about 700,000 gallons of water a day is used for public drinking and the bathhouses. Science tells us that the water is 4,000 years old (meaning rainwater that fell that long ago, settled deep in the earth, was heated by thermals and radioactive materials, and then seeped up through the streams in this mountain). Wow!
Twenty-six miles of trails are available for hikers at Hot Springs NP. A park ranger provided us with a map of the trails and a suggested route to get to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower (216’). Starting on the Dead Chief Trail, we took the Short Cut Trail to the Hot Springs Mountain Trail…mostly uphill.
A pavilion that provides great views of the surrounding area to the SE is located near the tower.
Tickets to the observation deck of the tower are on sale at the gift shop on the first floor. Tickets are $8/adults ($7/seniors). John stayed with Sadie while I went to the top.
The views are indeed spectacular. The first photo is a view down the mountain to Bathhouse Row. The second is of the Ouachita Mountains. Reportedly, you can see for 140 miles from the tower on a clear day.
A small museum is located on a floor beneath the observation deck of the tower. Interesting historical information was displayed including that of some famous people that visited Hot Springs(Al Capone and other notorious gangsters; spring training location for Boston Red Sox in 1914; Tony Bennett sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” for the first time here in 1960s, and more!) As shown in the map below, Hot Springs National Park (green) encircles the town of Hot Springs (white).
For additional information about the Hot Springs Mountain Tower, go to: www.hotspringstower.com
For additional information about the Hot Springs Mountain Tower, go to: www.hotspringstower.com
We hiked back to Bathhouse Row on Peak Trail. It was a lovely, downhill trek.
We continued our walk along the Grand Promenade…about a half mile (30-minute) stroll. It was built by the CCC in the 1930s and has been in use since.
We continued our walk along the Grand Promenade…about a half mile (30-minute) stroll. It was built by the CCC in the 1930s and has been in use since.
From the walkway we could see the second hot spring that is still open.
We walked along the Promenade to Reserve Street where the Navy/Army Hospital is located. Veterans of WWI and WWII were cared for here including the use of the thermal springs. Today, it is the Arkansas Career Training Institute.
What a great day at this National Park! There is something here for everyone. It is located about 50 miles southwest of Little Rock. Gulpha Gorge Campground offers sites with electric and water. For additional information about Hot Springs, go to www.nps.gov/hosp.
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