Hot Springs National Park

Congress established Hot Springs Reservation on April 20, 1832 to protect hot springs flowing from the southwestern slope of Hot Springs Mountain. This makes it the oldest park currently in the National Park System--40 years older than Yellowstone National Park. People have used the hot spring water in therapeutic baths for more than two hundred years to treat rheumatism and other ailments. The reservation eventually developed into a well-known resort nicknamed "The American Spa" because it attracted not only the wealthy but also indigent health seekers from around the world. Today the park protects eight historic bathhouses with the former luxurious Fordyce Bathhouse housing the park visitor center. The entire "Bathhouse Row" area is a National Historic Landmark District that contains the grandest collection of bathhouses of its kind in North America. By protecting the 47 hot springs and their watershed, the National Park Service continues to provide visitors with historic leisure activities such as hiking, picnicking, and scenic drives. Hot Springs Reservation became Hot Springs National Park by a Congressional name change on March 4, 1921.

Hot Springs National Park
P.O. Box 1860
Hot Springs, AR 71902
501-624-2701 - Visitor Information
501-624-2308 - Visitor Information
501-623-2824 - Superintendent's Office

By Plane
Hot Springs is serviced by a local airport, Hot Springs Memorial Field, or Little Rock National Airport (with shuttle service and rental cars.)

By Car
Hot Springs National Park is in downtown Hot Springs; Bathhouse Row is on Central Avenue with the mountains of the park flanking the street. Visitors traveling north-south on I-30 take the Hot Springs US 70 West exit south of Benton, the Hot Springs US 270 West exit at Malvern, or the Hot Springs Ark. 7 North exit near Arkadelphia; visitors traveling south on Ark. 7 will come through downtown Hot Springs where the visitor center is located; visitors traveling south
on US 71 from Fort Smith, or north on US 71 from Texarkana, take the US 270 East exit; visitors coming from Oklahoma on US 70 would take this route all the way into Hot Springs. When you get into the city you will see signs for the National Park. The Visitor Center is located downtown on Highway 7 North or Central Avenue.

By Plane
Amtrak's Texas Eagle route serves Little Rock and Malvern, Arkansas, with shuttle services to Hot Springs.
Greyhound Bus Lines also services Hot Springs with a station located at 229 West Grand Avenue. For fare and scheduling information, call 1-800-231-2222.

Getting Around
For getting around in the park, you may use personal vehicle or bicycles on the roads. Some tour companies offer tours and the city of Hot Springs runs a trolley to the tower on Hot Springs Mountain May-October. Tour buses or other vehicles more than 30 feet long are prohibited on Hot Springs Mountain because the road has hairpin curves.

Central Arkansas has four seasons: mild in spring and fall with some humidity, a light jacket is recommended; hot and very humid in summer, wear comfortable clothing; winter: variable--temperatures may range from below freezing to the 60s, with some humidity. Be prepared for cold weather.

Here are some of the activities that are offered at Mount Rainier National Park.

• Auto Touring
• Camping
• Educational Programs
• Hiking
• Horseback Riding
• Bird Watching

Recommended Activities
Touring the Visitor Center and the Bathhouse Row area are highly recommended. We also recommend strolling Bathhouse and the Grand Promenade, hiking, picnicking, camping at Gulpha Gorge Campground, and taking a thermal bath at one of the many concessioners.

The Visitor Center is a museum offering self-guiding tours of the former Fordyce Bathhouse. Guided tours are also offered some days. You may make a reservation for a guided tour for a group by calling the visitor center at least two weeks in advance.

The Grand Promenade is a landscaped walkway behind Bathhouse Row which offers a glimpse of the protected springs and historic landscape features. Accessible entrances are from behind the Visitor Center and from Fountain Street.

The approximately 26 miles of day-use hiking trails in the park (mountain bikes are prohibited) beckon the walker to see the forested Ouachita Mountains. Scenic mountain drives on West Mountain, Hot Springs, and North Mountains afford overlooks to the surrounding area. An observation tower on top of Hot Springs Mountain is operated by a concessioner and offers a birds-eye-view of the Zig Zag range of the Ouachitas.

Picnic tables on the Grand Promenade, Hot Springs Mountain, West Mountain, and at Gulpha Gorge offer a place to enjoy a meal outdoors.

Check out the schedule at the visitor center for guided tours, junior ranger programs, and other special activities that may be going on.