hot springs national park

The visitor center at Hot Springs is a restored bathhouse. The park ranger that gave a tour through did an awesome job and was very informative, especially since she had relation that use to work in the bathhouse so she had a vested interest. Great stories to tell to make the history come alive. The park is different from most but a joy to visit especially if you like history.

We enjoyed walking the scenic trails in the park and visiting the Mountain Tower. The Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor's Center was a treat and is free to tour. We enjoyed the "Valley of the Vapors" historical movie and the short video on bathing procedures in the bathhouses. You can still view the stained glass ceilings, marble walls and statues as you tour the building. Exhibits from the history of Hot Springs, the bathhouses, and the history of the park are very informative. Viewing the original clothing worn by patrons and attendants and seeing the original bathing rooms was a real step back into history. Employees are helpful and friendly. This is a must-see in the Hot Springs area.

We are Canadian youngish retirees. I have a sort-of-bucket-list wish to see ALL Canadian nat'l parks during my lifetime (with grandkids in tow when, possible), as well as U.S.A. ones if they are in the vicinity of our US travels. We really appreciate govt. spending, as well as volunteer hours, spent on preserving nature and major historical sites. We travelled only a little out of our way to see this park, and it was well worth it. In fact, the drive down Scenic Hwy 7in Arkansas was a lovely approach to our three days in Hot Springs.

I enjoyed my trip to Hot Springs National Park. Staff at the Visitor Center was very friendly, knowledgeable and very helpful. I found it interesting to learn more about the glory times of this place during my visit, it is quite obvious however that these days are long gone ... Manage your expectations when going there, this is not Yellowstone or Glacier National Park but still worth visiting.

The National Park Service has done a wonderful job of keeping the 1920 bath house experience alive in Hot Springs. All those treasures would be lost if the NPS didn't own them. A wonderful step back into time.

good, simple hikes with pools of hot springs to enjoy. be careful though --- water is very, very hot! I found out after I dunked my feet!

The "Park" is actually the historic downtown of Hot Springs, with the main attraction being the massive hotel/spas; plus some walking and jogging trails nearby (and hot springs). There, of course, is no fee to enter the town. I loved the (fascinating) tour and movie (but dont know if kids would care). The main street passes thru everything you will want to see, and it's easy to just park and walk it. On one side are the small shops and eateries, and on the other side are the grassy lawns and the Grand Promenade, with benches, and drinking fountains that bring fresh water from the springs to drink or fill your bottles; and yes, it tastes good. The most memorable thing to do is to go into the 20th century bathhouses (National Historic Landmark District) and see the Gilded Age architecture and the stories of how they treated visitors; and then take a bath treatment yourself next door. It's all fairly inexpensive and a once in a lifetime experience. It's not like a luxury spa; more like a hospital. They draw water from the underground hotsprings, which is therapeutic. Hint: Fordyce Bathhouse serves as the Natl. Park's visitor center; the Buckstaff and Quapaw are the only ones still operating as bathhouses. The Arlington Hotel has a wide grand wrap around porch; and two ok-priced cafes inside, to enjoy the grand architecture.

We spent the better part of a day here. We checked out the bath houses first, then took a picnic and hiked up to the picnic area under the tower. It was pretty steep for my seven year old, but was she pretty excited in the end that she had "climbed a mountain". After eating we explored several trails. Great way to spend a day.

We have seen several National Parks and this one is unique! Trails were beautiful and enjoyed the peaks at the hot springs bubbling up. Loved the architecture and history of the old bath houses and treated ourselves at the Quapaw spa. Very nice and definitely worth the trip.

We went to hot springs on our honeymoon. We love this town. The park is so clean. Very scenic. You Can Hear The Water flowing. Downtown and close to everything.

Great for hiking, and for history buffs. The Tower is a must-see with some great views. I would also recommend hiking the sunset trail out to Balanced Rock - gorgeous!

Not a whole lot to see, but just a few hot springs and trails and the historical buildings. It was a crisp cool winter day and just a very very nice day for seeing a national park.

And it goes all thru the historical district downtown. There are walking and jogging trails all over, a promenade and benches to sit, and water from the springs to drink and fill your bottles with all over, hot and cold. There are so many varieties of plants and trees to look at, and you can spend hours there...

We started out near Reserve and Central Avenue; walked on the Grand Promenade until picking up the Dead Chief Trail to the Peak Trail to the Tower. We got to the tower before 9 and it was closed; there was a small overlook we enjoyed (the tower was $7 to get in as well, which we probably wouldn’t have paid for). We then go back on the Peak Trail to the Hot Springs Mountain Trail to the Flora Trail to the Lower Dogwood Trail to the Arlington Trail. We didn’t know that the Arlington trail would actually take us into the Arlington hotel – that was certainly memorable. Make sure to take a trail map with you – you can mix and match and a number of different trails for a nice hike as long or short as you would like. Hot Springs isn’t the most exotic National Park, but certainly there is a lot of history. It was also nice to get out for a hike. We didn't find it necessary to spend more than a day...but there are other things to do in the area. Enjoy!

We had a great time hiking around and exploring even in the middle of winter. Trails are well marked. We thoroughly enjoyed it - pretty and interesting.