Brian and I spent our Thanksgiving break visiting National Park #6 – Hot Springs, Arkansas! It wasn’t a bad drive – about 7 hours plus stops.
We stayed at The Waters hotel right on Bathhouse Row. We pretty much parked the truck and walked everywhere. The hotel is a historically preserved building and is, based on what I’ve seen, the most modern hotel in the area.
Some of the coolest things in the area are the hot springs that pop up all over the city! The air was cold so the water steams out of the ground. We even bottled some of the water ourself. Straight from the source! There are water fountains that run nonstop with water from the springs.
Since we are at a National Park, after all, we went for a little hike. It was no Rocky Mountain 10-miler or intense peak summit like Guadalupe, but it sure was beautiful and quiet. We hiked up to the observation tower first, then continued on to Gulpha Gorge and back down Dead Chief’s trail to town. We also walked the Grand Promenade, a large Public Works walkway.
Most evenings, we walked around town. Hot Springs has a very small, but very cute downtown. Everything is so old and is preserved so well. We were sure to stop into the National Park visitor center to get our passport stamp and to buy a pin for our hat!
The Arlington Hotel is the oldest and largest hotel in the area. A little spooky, if you ask me, but elegant none-the-less. We had a delicious breakfast buffet in their Venetian Room.
At the center of downtown is Bathhouse row.
There are still two bathhouses that are operational. The old Buckstaff and the more modern Quapaw. Brian and I spent an afternoon at the Quapaw in mineral baths and massages.
Food! We had a lot of delicious food and drinks during our stay in Hot Springs, but our favorites were definitely the doughy pretzel and beer flight from Superior Bathhouse Brewery, breakfast at The Pancake Shop, burgers from The Ohio Club, and dessert at Kilwins. We also enjoyed pizza from Rod’s, ice cream from Pour Some Sugar on Me, and beers from The Copper Penny.
On our way out of town, we drove up to the West Mountain Summit to take in the beautiful views one last time.
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