Hot Springs National Park

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We have a family reunion later this summer, so we told the kids our family vacation would be a road trip this year. I asked the kids if there was any place they were interested in going that was in driving distance. Joanna checked our map of national parks and declared that she wanted to go to Hot Springs National Park, located down in Arkansas.

We knew nothing about Hot Springs National Park at the time. I imagined it was a place full of thermal activity and hot springs. I thought maybe we'd be able to hike to hot springs and soak in them. When I started researching it, I found out it's a very different place than I imagined!

Hot Springs National Park is the second smallest national park. The only one that's smaller is Gateway Arch National Park, which we stopped at just a few days ago. From what we can tell, Hot Springs National Park is made up of a few short trails, a big, one-way scenic drive, and a row of historic bath houses.

We spent this morning at the row of historic bath houses. These bath houses were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and they were meant for healing. Some treatments are like what you'd expect: soaking in hot springs water, getting massages, and sitting steam rooms (well, cabinets). Some are not what you'd expect. There were electric baths and mercury treatments. We learned that for most of its early history, the patients/guests were all white, and the bath attendants were all Black. It wasn't until the 1960s that the bath houses became fully integrated. These bath houses were also quite luxurious. So, it seems that they were originally meant for well-to-do, but often sickly, white people.

Today, some of the bath houses, like Fordyce, have been converted into a visitor's center and museum. Some, like Buckstaff, still offer spa treatments and soaks in tubs filled with water from the hot springs. However, these bath houses aren't for children (18+). From what I could tell, the only way we could soak in hot springs water was to book a night at Hotel Hale. Hotel Hale is the oldest bathhouse at Hot Springs National Park and was built in 1892. The hot springs water is pumped directly into the tubs in the guest rooms. So, if we could get a room, we could then suck in the tub. Reservations don't open until 4 months in advance. In February, I was able to secure a room for our trip, so we'll be staying there tomorrow night to each have the opportunity to soak in the tub.

For now, we decided to explore the museum and nearby shops. Parking wasn't a big problem for us because we arrived at 9am. There are free spots and lots that were already full. There was a pay lot in a great location across from the visitor's center for $5/hour, but they accepted cash only. We found a spot at a lot that was a block west that was the same price and accepted cards. It was nearly empty when we parked, but it was completely full when we came back! In fact, traffic was pretty bad as we were leaving around noon. So, I recommend going early!

It was kind of interesting to see all of the old treatment options and bath houses. Everything was very fancy, and there was marble everywhere.

Additionally, I'd heard you could drink the hot springs. I spoke with a local man, and he said there are two bottle filling stations on site. We stopped at the gift shop on the southern end of the row of bath houses, and we bought a glass jug for filling up with the water. Then, by the national park sign, we found the jug filling station and filled our bottle with water from the hot springs. The water was quite warm (143 degrees). Andrew and I sipped it from the jug, but it was too hot for the kids. We thought it tasted exactly like water. The bottle we purchased listed the mineral content from the water. In every liter of water there is: 45mg calcium, 42mg silica, 5mg magnesium, 165mg bicarbonate, 10mg carbon dioxide, 4mg sodium, 2mg potassium, 8mg sulfate, and 3mg oxygen.

Before we left the bath house area, we decided to have lunch at Superior Bathhouse. The old bath house is now a brewery, and they brew beer and root beer using water from the hot springs. I had a potato, salad, and root beer for lunch. The root beer was very good! The food was also pretty affordable. For example, a root beer float is $4.

Because we knew we'd be back, we decided to head back out to our cabin. We had laundry to do and needed to find a laundromat, and we also wanted to enjoy our time at Lake Hamilton. We liked visiting bathhouse row (well, the adults did), but I left feeling a bit perplexed that this place is designated as a national park. To be honest, that's kind of how I felt when we left Gateway Arch National Park, too. I couldn't help but think, shouldn't Gateway Arch be a national monument? Why is it a park? I had similar thoughts about Hot Springs National Park.

Well, we haven't seen it all yet. We'll go on the drive tomorrow and explore a bit more. Maybe I'll be more impressed once we do!

Anyway, after we left the bathhouses, we went back to the cabin and then set out to do laundry. Not far from the laundromat was a food truck called Morrison's Fried Hand Pies. We picked up some hand pies from Morrison's pie truck. They were about to close but had three apple pies left! Normally, I don't pick apple, but it was really, really good! Oliver, who is the pickiest eater in our family, asked if there were any more once he finished his!

Now that laundry and hand pies are done, our plan for the afternoon and evening is to enjoy our remaining time at our cabin on Lake Hamilton, and fill up the inflatable kayaks!

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Photos

Hot Springs National Park
Hot Springs National Park is the second smallest national park after Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Most of the national park that visitors can explore is developed and includes a row of historic bath houses.

Hot Springs
You can fill a water bottle or jug with water from the hot springs. It comes out at 143 degrees. We didn't have a container with us but purchased a jug from the gift shop.

Hot Springs Water
It tastes like... water.

Root Beer Made from Hot Springs
We stopped at Superior Brewing, which used to be a bath house. They use the water from the hot springs to brew beer and root beer.