Hot Springs National Park
Hot Springs NP- It is a national park but it is built around the small mountain town of Hot Springs making this a very different park experience than you are used to. The park consists of 5,550 acres in which there are many hiking trails, a campground, display springs, a gift shop, and a visitor center/museum. Hot thermal streams pour down the hillside and form pools. Bathhouses were built right on top and visitors can soak in the therapeutic waters.
Bathhouse Row-The park is well known for the historic Bathhouse Row consisting of eight bathhouses. When you decide your ready to book your vacation make sure to book any spa or massage treatment at the same time, well in advance. They are limited and its gotten worse since covid. If you are here to relax or hike or whatever getting in the waters and soaking it all in is part of the experience and pretty much mandatory. Why else did you come?
Bathhouse Row Map- All 8 bath houses are laid out in a row and they have walking paths directly behind them. Make sure to walk the Grand Promenade and Tufa Terrace Trail and this will give you a birds eye view of the houses and you can see all the display springs and touch the warm waters.
Accommodations- There is no shortage of hotels to stay at in the row house district but we opted for a bed and breakfast. I wasn’t convinced because I have never stayed in one before but this turned out to a magnificent idea. The house was amazing and the owners were super cool. It was close to all the action and we were able to walk to everything and the trails are a few blocks away.
The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa- This is the Landmark hotel right in the thick of it. It was built in 1924 and has all the modern amenities but it feels like you have gone back in time and stayed there.
National Park Service Map- This is the official map found in the NPS brochure.