How To Spend One Day In Hot Springs National Park
The national parks in the US have always ignited a sense of wonder inside me and vastness all around me. From sleeping beneath the Texas stars in Big Bend, transforming time with the Redwoods in California, and stopping to visit the Petrified Forest in Arizona in between, our parks are something unique and spectacular.
These feelings of jaw-dropping awe were not inspired in my while visiting Hot Springs National Park. But, that’s not to say that it isn’t for everyone. It’s just didn’t make the top of the list of my favorite national parks. The first thing to know is that Hot Springs National Park is a town, amounting to hardly any sort of vast nature preserve you might be expecting. This makes it more accessible for those in wheelchairs and those who are unable to walk long distances off of pavement. While there I saw lots of families, kids, and elderly couples enjoying the day.
What Is Hot Springs National Park Famous For?
No one knows when humans started visiting the healing waters of Hot Springs. The natural thermal spring water that’s found there flows out of the ground at an average temperature of 143 °F.
Native people were, of course, the first ones to recognize the healing powers of the hot spring water. The area was said to be a neutral territory where different tribes could use the waters in peace. Then unfortunately in the mid-1500s French and Spanish settlers “claimed” the area. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas recaps that what’s now called Arkansas was home to Native people long before Europeans arrived. Colonizers from Europe met Native people whose ancestors had lived in the regions for thousands of years. The colonizers brought with them new diseases and violence that resulted in population loss for Native folks as well as cultural loss that can still be felt today.
Although a handful of settlers tried to turn the town into a private spa and resort for wealthy families, in 1832 president Andre Jackson designated Hot Springs as the first federal reservation, making it essentially the first national park in the US. In 1921 it officially became a national park.
Health Benefits Of Hot Spring Water
The thermal water flowing through Hot Springs is nearly 4,000-year-old spring water in its natural state. Rich with minerals, it delivers a handful of healing properties and qualities to the body:
- Boost blood circulation
- Aid in pain reduction
- Improve skin conditions and irritations
- Naturally detoxify
- Reduce stress levels
Drinking The Water In Hot Springs
In addition to soaking in the spring water, thousands of visitors enjoy drinking it, too. Here is a list of places where you can find drinking fountains to bottle your own spring water and take it home (or just fill up your water bottle while you’re there!) from the Hot Springs National Park website:
- In front of the Libbey Memorial Physical Medicine Center on Reserve St. – suitable for filling jugs.
- In front of the National Park Service Administration Building on Reserve St. – suitable for filling jugs.
- Between the Hale and Maurice Bathhouses on the Bathhouse Row
- The Noble Fountain on Reserve St. (at the south entrance of the Grand Promenade)
- The Dripping Spring between the Hale and Maurice Bathhouses
- The Shell Fountain on the Stevens Balustrade (between the Fordyce and the Maurice Bathhouses)
- Outside the park boundaries at the Hill Wheatley Plaza on Central Ave. – suitable for filling jugs.
Is Hot Springs National Park Free?
Due to the fact that you can enter and leave the town as you please, yes, entrance to the national park is free. While there you can expect to pay for food, parking, and other experiences that you might choose to do.
Where Is Hot Springs National Park?
Hot Springs National Park is located in central Garland County, Arkansas. It sits adjacent to the city of Hot Springs and is a little over an hour away from Little Rock, Arkansas, making for a nice day trip if you’re staying in town. TripAdvisor is a great resource for finding places to stay in walking distance of the downtown area.
What To Do In Hot Springs National Park
Exploring Hot Springs National Park doesn’t take more than a day if you’re not planning on hiking through all 26 miles of trails in the park. This is something that I would have liked to do but didn’t have enough time. Other than that, you can experience one of the bath houses, walk around downtown, mountain bike the trails, head up to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower, go birding with this list of birds to lookout for, grab some plant-based food (outlined below), or book one of these experiences in the area:
Hike Hot Springs National Park
The best trail in the park seems to be the Sunset Trail, which is the longest in the park, covering around 10 miles one way. “Crossing all types of terrain, the trail makes its way through the most remote areas of the park. This trail is divided into three sections: West Mountain (2.8 miles), Sugarloaf Mountain (2.6 miles), and Stonebridge Road (3.8 miles). Sunset Trail can be combined with Hot Springs and North Mountain trails and West Mountain trails to complete a strenuous 15-17-mile loop hike.”
Hot Springs Mountain Tower
My friend and I took a trail system from downtown through the woods and directly to the mountain tower. When we got there, we were disappointed to find out that the 216 foot high structure costs money to scale. While pacing through the gift shop at the bottom is free, heading to the top will cost you a pretty penny. Here are the prices as of 2024 from the tower’s website:
- General Admission (12 to 54) – $13.00
- Senior Citizens (55+) – $11.00
- Military/Police/Firemen/First Responders – $11.00
- Golden/Park Pass Holders – $10.00
- Youth (5 -11) – $9.00
- Children 4 and under – Free
- Group rates for 15 + – Adult $8.00 | Youth $5.00
It didn’t seem worth it to us so we took a break and sat on a bench outside that overlooks the town below for free instead.
Experience A Bath House In Hot Springs
There are 8 different bath houses currently standing in Hot Springs, but not all of them are open for business. Only two of them are, and that’s the Quapaw Bathhouse (open every day, except Tuesday, from 10:00am – 6:00pm) and the Buckstaff Bathhouse (open every day from 8:00am – 3:00pm, unless otherwise noted).
When I visited Hot Springs I really wanted to experience the Quapaw Bathhouse because they offered a more affordable public bathhouse experience that is $25 USD at time of writing. They don’t accept reservations, so everything is first come first serve. Their address is 413 Central Ave, Hot Springs National Park, AR 71901 and you can learn more on their website.
Because I visited on a Tuesday and there are no public hot springs to enjoy, we were left to visit the Buckstaff Bathhouse. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. The baths are located in an old Victorian brick building that feels like it never left the era that it was built in. When you walk inside, historic photos are hung up on the wall that give you an unsettling feeling; they look like something out of an old horror movie. The whole place gives old-school mental institution vibes, and the facilities seem to have not been upgraded since they were first built in the 20th Century.
We went with the traditional bathing package for $89 USD, it and was full of surprises. Our journey started in the waiting room, where you were left to put your clothes in a locker and wear a sheet as you sit and chat or flip through old magazines. My first stop was to a bath tub, where I was hoping to get a little peace and relaxation. Unfortunately, all of the water systems that are running are loud and noisy, making any sort of quiet ambiance that you were hoping for impossible. The water did feel nice, and a sweaty attendant came to scrub down my back with a loofah mitt that I was given at the beginning of the experience.
After experiencing the tub, I was whisked away to a “sitz tub”, where your lower parts only are submerged in thermal waters. Sitz tubs feel awkward but they’re meant to treat lower back problems, prostate conditions, and hemorrhoids. The strangest part of this experience was the vapor cabinet, which can be seen above in the (creepy) photo. In the vapor cabinet (which I actually really enjoyed) I was left sitting on a bench in a box while my head peaked out the top. Temperatures inside the cabinet can reach up to 145 °F.
Thankfully, the end of the somewhat jarring, odd, and overall weird experience ended with a 20 minute massage in a private room. Oh yea, I forgot to mention, all of these other steps are done quite publicly! If you’d like to get a first-hand account of what I experienced, you can check out the Buckstaff Bathhouse services here on their website.
Where To Eat In Hot Springs National Park
I’ll be honest, the plant-based food options in Hot Springs National Park aren’t booming. Sure, there are all sorts of options listed on Happy Cow, so take your time reviewing them and see if anything calls out to you. My friend and I ended up going to a pizza place called SQZBX, where I enjoyed a 100% plant-based pizza and caprice sandwich to go.
My final review which made the HappyCow website reads: “This is a cute place with a lovely staff. The vegan pizza was ok. It was clearly marked on the menu which was nice and the cheese was good. But it was a little dry over all and limited options. I also got their caprise sandwich to go and swapped cow cheese for vegan cheese. It was good but small for the price.”
So, Is Hot Springs National Park Really Worth It?
In my well-traveled opinion, our experience in Hot Springs National Park was strange and interesting at best. The Buckstaff Bathhouse was an incredibly odd experience — one that made me feel like I was transported into another realm in which you’d see people in white coats smiling creepily at you as you tried to escape a haunted institution. Hiking the Sunset Trail and being able to submerge in a public bathing session at Quapaw would have enhanced our experience overall. It was disappointing to see the colonization of the natural areas and have to pay to access what are otherwise free natural resources that provide healing.
Visiting with the right people can be fun as long as you stay open to the experience and plan well for your visit!
