If you’re looking for a rare and restorative national park experience, Hot Springs National Park should be on your shortlist. Nestled in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, Hot Springs National Park offers a unique blend of natural beauty, history, and therapeutic geothermal waters you won’t find anywhere else in North America. It’s the perfect destination for a relaxing weekend getaway.

I traveled solo to the park because I needed a long, hot soak and lacked an excellent bathtub or natural mineral water. Road trip time! I’m in the Midwest and could have flown to Little Rock National Airport, but I still need a car to get the rest of the way. Besides, it’s a beautiful drive through the Ouachita Mountains.

The centerpiece of Hot Springs National Park is the hot springs. If you’ve never soaked in a natural hot spring, put it on your list! People have revered naturally occurring hot springs for their therapeutic properties for centuries. The warm, mineral-rich waters bubbling up from the ground are a transformative experience, like being in the earth’s womb. Imagine that!

Explore the Historic Bathhouse Row

However, the hot springs in the national park are not the type you can stumble upon in the wild like some other places. Here, the bathhouses manage, funnel and control these hot springs. Downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas, has a series of historic 19th and 20th-century bathhouses.

These architectural marvels are a testament to the golden age of the American spa movement, and their owners have restored the buildings to their former glory. The interior of a typical bathhouse is a luxurious haven with spacious rooms adorned with marble floors, stained glass windows, and elaborate mosaics. Pools filled with natural hot springs were the centerpieces, and other amenities included massage rooms, steam rooms, and cafes. Many celebrities, presidents, and everyday people once frequented these historic bathhouses in Hot Springs National Park, seeking relief from ailments and a luxurious escape.

Today, two of the several bathhouses on Bathhouse Row offer a variety of spa treatments, ranging from traditional thermal baths and massages to facials and body wraps.

Hot Springs Have a Legacy of Healing

For centuries, people revered the hot springs of Hot Springs National Park for their therapeutic properties. Native Americans used the springs for bathing and healing ceremonies long before European settlers arrived. Once those settlers arrived, they took over the springs and turned them into a spa industry that quickly flourished. The healing properties of hot springs can vary depending on the specific mineral content of the water. Some springs are high in sulfur, while others are high in silica or magnesium. Each mineral has its own unique set of benefits.

Benefits of Hot Springs

Their warm, mineral-rich waters offer a variety of benefits for both physical and mental health. Here are some of the ways hot springs waters can be healing:

• Pain relief: The warmth of the water can help to relax muscles and ease pain, making it beneficial for people with arthritis, joint pain, and muscle tension.
• Improved circulation: Soaking in hot water can increase blood flow, which can help to improve circulation and deliver oxygen and nutrients to cells.
• Skin health: The minerals in hot spring water can benefit the skin. For example, sulfur springs can help treat skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema, while silica can help soften and smooth the skin.
• Detoxification: Some believe soaking in hot springs can help detoxify the body by sweating out toxins.
• Stress relief: A hot spring’s warm, relaxing environment can help reduce stress and anxiety and promote peace and well-being.
• Improved sleep: The relaxation and stress relief that comes from soaking in a hot spring can help to enhance the quality of sleep.

Fun Fact: Sulfuric acid gives some hot springs a “rotten egg” smell, such as those at Yellowstone National Park, where the water is too acidic to drink. The smell isn’t present at Hot Springs National Park because it isn’t a volcanic process heating the water. Instead, the water warms up over thousands of years as it travels along a geothermal gradient.

Open Pools in Hot Springs National Park

The natural springs and pools in the area used to be open and anyone could soak in them. After developers created the spas, they covered the pools and streams and funneled them into buildings. Today, behind bathhouse row on the Grand Promenade, you’ll see dozens of green boxes capping off individual springs. The “spring boxes” protect the springs from contamination and connect them to the network of pipes for collections.

Within the park are three places where you can touch the thermal water. Even though the water comes out of the ground at 147 degrees F, it is cool enough to touch when it reaches the pools.

1. The Display Spring is behind the Maurice Bathhouse; this spring fissures out of a hillside and flows into a shallow pool below. Shaded by trees surrounded by mosses and blue-green algae, this is a great place to relax and listen to the sounds of water.
2. Hot Water Cascade at Arlington Lawn is the park’s largest visible spring. Hot water emanates from the hillside near the Grand Promenade and flows under the path, down a cliff into two pools.
3. The Fordyce Fountains are at the park’s former “grand entrance” between the Fordyce and Maurice Bathhouses. There are two hexagonal fountains where the steaming water shoots up.

Fun Fact: In 1859, surveyors measured 54 area springs according to their temperature. The average recorded temperature was 134 degrees and it flowed about 450,000 gallons daily. Today, the daily flow is just under 700,000 gallons and the temperature averages 131 degrees. Over time, some springs stopped flowing, but the amount and type of minerals in those remaining have never changed.  

Hot Springs on Bathhouse Row

While there are no open pools in Hot Springs National Park where visitors can soak in the wild, a row of bathhouses lines the street in front of the natural springs. Each bathhouse on “Bathhouse Row” is unique and boasts its own architectural style.

• Buckstaff Bathhouse:  The oldest continuously operating bathhouse on the row, built in 1912, still offers traditional thermal baths, massages, other spa treatments and Romanesque architecture.
• Quapaw Baths & Spa: The Spanish Colonial Revival design of the Quapaw Baths is a historic Spanish Colonial Revival-style building with a modern spa offering a variety of treatments, including thermal pools, steam caves, and massages.
• Ozark Bathhouse: A former bathhouse now known for its Spanish colonial facade and Hot Springs National Park Cultural Center.
• Fordyce Bathhouse: A grand Beaux-Arts building now houses the National Park Service Visitor Center and the Hot Springs National Park Museum. Visitors can tour the building and learn about their history and architecture.
• Lamar Bathhouse: A beautifully restored bathhouse is now the National Park office.
• Maurice Bathhouse – built in 1912, is vacant.
• Hale Bathhouse – built in 1892, is now a hotel.
• Superior Bathhouse – built in 1916, is now a brewery. Stop by for the only place you’ll get hot spring mineral water beer! I love a good craft beer; this was the most unique I’ve ever had. They also serve pub-style food and it’s an excellent place for lunch.

Bathhouse Services

The only two bathhouses where you can soak in the water are the Buckstaff and the Quapaw Bathhouse. The Buckstaff is the only bathhouse that offers a traditional bathing experience and has been in continuous operation since opening its doors. The Quapaw Bathhouse offers private baths, public pools, and modern-day spa services. Both spas require reservations, except to visit the public pools – but you might have to wait, and space is limited.

Read about my bathing experiences in the traditional Romanesque Bathhouse and the public pools.

Thermal Spring Drinking Fountains

Drinking the hot springs water is perfectly normal, even encouraged. Go ahead, “quaff the elixir,” as they used to say in the spa’s heyday. Aside from soaking in the hot springs, people also love to drink from them. Many people bring jugs to fill and take home. I saw people filing up several jugs at once and loading them into the back of their vehicles. I filled a few of my own with the hot spring water and enjoyed it for the rest of my trip and long drive home. Find public fountains:

• In front of the Libbey Memorial Physical Medicine Center on Reserve St.
• In front of the National Park Service Administration Building on Reserve St.
• 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 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.

Hike Through Hot Springs National Park Forest

The park has two concentrated areas of hiking trails: the Hot Springs and North Mountain Trails and the West Mountain Trails. Both areas are composed of relatively short, interconnected trails. Altogether, over 26 miles of trails wind through the Ouachita Mountains. The hiking area is relatively small and highly populated with tourist hikers.

I hiked to the top of Hot Springs Mountain for panoramic views of the city and surrounding countryside. It’s a short and easy, wooded and heavily populated hike. At the top, there is a gift shop and the Hot Springs Mountain Tower. The observation tower is 216 feet tall and offers stunning 360-degree views of the surrounding area, including the Ouachita Mountains, Hot Springs Mountain, and the Diamond Lakes area. The top has two stories and a circular layout, including a history museum.

Several other short, interconnected trails will take you around the forest without being out of reach of cell reception or people.

If you Visit Hot Springs National Park

Hot Springs National Park is a must-visit for anyone seeking a relaxing and rejuvenating getaway. With its natural beauty, historic charm, and therapeutic waters, this unique park offers something for everyone. Visit one of the bathhouses, browse the shops and galleries, or simply admire the beautiful architecture.

Hot Springs National Park is a year-round destination, but the best time to visit is during the spring and fall months when the weather is mild and the crowds are smaller. The park offers a variety of accommodations, from campsites to luxurious hotels. Reservations are recommended for spa treatments, especially during peak season and weekends.

Read stories about other national parks I’ve visited here.

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