Windows On The Park

What a delightful stop! This is worth a stop on your trip or even a destination. If you have 2 hours you can walk bathhouse row and see the gorgeous architecture of Hot springs and even take a soak in a bathhouse! If you have 6 hours then make sure you tour the cultural center, check out some of the shops, and have a meal along the main street. If this is a destination, then make sure you get an appointment to have a full pampering at the spa and bath houses, enjoy an evening walk, and stay the night at any of the gorgeous art deco hotels like The Arlington. You will not be disappointed in Hot Springs.

Very unique national park! Totally free park, but try to plan ahead and make a reservation if you’d like to visit the bath houses for a spa day. There’s still other opportunities to drink the water for free and there’s a small museum to spend about 30 minutes inside. There’s also several hiking trails that are easy-moderate. Not crowded during the weekday especially in January!

This park is unlike most of the others that we've visited. It's not as majestic as Yosemite or Rocky Mountain but the history for our country is interesting and a unique area with all of the hot springs. We spent half a day here, which seemed just right. We were excited to see the wild armadillo digging around the dirt and enjoyed the brewery.

What a great look out place over the city area! Great for pics! Awesome walking trails or you can drive up to the top. Where they have a look out tower. We didn't get to go up the tower due it closing early on Christmas eve. Very understandable indeed. But I'm sure the view from it is breathing taking. The city just wraps around the mountain. Absolutely gorgeous!

We stayed at Hotel Hale. It was a pleasant experience. We were able to soak in a hot spring mineral bath while visiting. We were not in the room much as we were walking the town/national park or eating. A lot of history everywhere. But we were welcomed like family at Hotel Hale. Dinner was awesome with Robert taking great care of us too! The food was delicious and each table had fresh flowers. I was a little chilly but I had a sweater and was fine.

I didn't get to see the inside of the bathhouse (I was visiting for work) but was able to walk around the park. I was very surprised about how walkable it was (I forgot to wear tennis shoes and ended up wearing flats for my trek). For those who can't (or don't want to) walk the trails they have a nice meandering drive that takes you to the overlook. The downtown is very quaint with a nice walking path whic buffers the park and town. I'm looking forward to when I come back on vacation.

Hot Springs National Park is quite the detraction from the typical National Park experience but that's what makes this place very unique. The park centers around the history of Hot Springs, Arkansas and the people that used to common the area such as Al Capone, August Busch, and the Saint Louis Cardinals. There are quite a few hiking trails you can take if you want to get away from the crowds but I highly recommend visiting the old bath houses in the city and taking a trip up to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower. There are beautiful views in every direction and it gives you a good lay of the land from above!

Hot Springs National Park visitor center is stationed in the old Fordyce Bath house. We loved touring the museum and seeing what a traditional bath house looked like. This national park is also free which is a fun plus. There are a few easy walking trails and hiking trails behind bathhouse row and areas where you can see the hot springs being directed into the bath houses. This was a really cool place to explore and relax.