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Arkansas (AR)
Hot Springs
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Hot Springs National Park
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Hot Springs National Park

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Hot Springs National Park
4.5
1,043 reviews
#11 of 59 things to do in Hot Springs
National Parks
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9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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The area
Address
Best nearby
Restaurants
118 within 3 miles
Kilwins
170
0.3 mi$$ - $$$ • Dessert • American
Ohio Club
1,998
0.2 mi$$ - $$$ • American • Bar • Pub
The Porterhouse
665
0.1 mi$$ - $$$ • Steakhouse • Gluten Free Options
Superior Bathhouse Brewery
1,476
0.2 mi$$ - $$$ • American • Bar • Vegetarian Friendly
Grateful Head Pizza Oven & Beer Garden
325
0.1 mi$$ - $$$ • American • Bar • Pizza
Steinhaus Keller
577
0.2 mi$$ - $$$ • German • Bar • European
BubbaLu's Bodacious Burgers & Classy Dogs
346
0.1 mi$ • Quick Bites • American
The Pancake Shop
1,669
0.4 mi$ • American • Cafe • Diner
Copper Penny Pub
308
0.1 mi$$ - $$$ • American • Irish • Bar
The Avenue
160
0.2 mi$$ - $$$ • American • Vegetarian Friendly • Gluten Free Options
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Attractions
49 within 6 miles
Bathhouse Row
1,371
0 ftPoints of Interest & Landmarks • Historic Walking Areas
Fordyce Bathhouse
2,175
0 ftVisitor Centers • Historic Sites
Grand Promenade
471
130 ftHiking Trails
Ouachita National Forest
216
204 ftNational Parks • Forests
Gangster Museum of America
632
248 ftSpeciality Museums • History Museums
Artists' Workshop Gallery
33
225 ftArt Galleries
Arkansas Walk of Fame
27
337 ftPoints of Interest & Landmarks
The Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs
9
424 ftArt Galleries • Art Museums
Superior Bathhouse Brewery and Distillery
180
0.2 miDistilleries • Breweries
Gallery Central
8
0.2 miArt Galleries
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See what other travelers are saying
  • HRHORCH
    562 contributions
    Great Half-Day Excursion
    Touring the entire NP Visitor Center museum transported us back one hundred years to see historic tubs, showers, changing rooms, strange spa contraptions, and primitive gym equipment. We learned so much about the bathhouse clientele and employees very quickly reading the signage and watching the videos. Seeing the collections and rooms really captured our imaginations. History buffs will love this place! Behind the Vistor Center were natural springs we could see up close. Up the set of stairs was a scenic brick path we walked to peer down on the town. It lead to another hot spring waterfall. If you want to challenge yourself, there is a steep trail you can climb to go to an observation tower with views of the entire valley. We hiked it and it was tough, but a great challenge. (You can also drive up.) At the tower, you'll find a preserved bathhouse tub you can sit in for funny pictures and a gift shop with all sorts of memorbilia. There is fee to go up into the tower, but touring the Visitor Center museum is free.
    Visited January 2020
    Written February 1, 2020
  • TrailTrekker15
    Tallahassee, Florida3,929 contributions
    Unique and Refreshing
    I visited Hot Springs National Park over Memorial Day weekend. The park is enmeshed with the City of Hot Springs in a unique way. One moment you’re driving along a busy historic downtown street. The next you’re on a wooded mountain with the sounds of traffic fading away. I spent time on Hot Springs Mountain, West Mountain, and Bathhouse Row. The scenic drives and major stops are fantastic. I highly recommend walking along the wooded trails n addition to the heavily traffic urban paths in town. The visitor center with the Fordyce Bathhouse tour was excellent as well. Of course don’t forget to try the water! All over town are fountains with free hot spring water. I bought a growler in the gift shop and loaded up with it for the journey home. It was excellent for drinking! I look forward to visiting again in the near future!
    Visited May 2021
    Traveled solo
    Written June 17, 2021
  • acartwr501
    Reston, Virginia48 contributions
    Good for a few hours
    The National Park Ranger was excellent in telling us about the park and in giving the Junior Ranger badge to our daughter. We took a mineral bath while we were there which was refreshing. We didn't walk around the park too much because it was so hot but from what we saw, it is beautiful.
    Visited June 2020
    Written June 30, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
1,043 reviews
Excellent
652
Very good
253
Average
99
Poor
28
Terrible
11
NemoTraveler
Aarhus, Denmark661 contributions
Hot Springs History
Oct 2022
The headquarters of the National Park is located inside the historic Fordyce Bathhouse, which is located on Central Avenue in downtown Hot Springs. It is a very beautiful building, which was opened to wealthy guests in 1915 and restored in 1989 to serve as a museum, commemorating its glorious past.

The restoration seems very successful and a number of interesting and curious details are presented in the museum.

Tours are available and we decided to take one. The guide did a great job, explaining many interesting aspects and at the end we also had the opportunity to taste the water, which contains several healthy minerals.

Admission and tours are managed and conducted by the highly knowledgeably and friendly National Park Service team and both admittance and tours are absolutely free. Highly recommended.
Written November 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Timothy
Dallas, TX1 contribution
Disappointing waste of a natural resource
Oct 2021 • Couples
Not a NP but a touristy place. Except for one spring we couldn’t find others. Bathhouse row are the only places to experience hot springs, but they require advance booking some two weeks in advance. NPS can learn from Taiwan to make springs publicly accessible. Create pools for soaking feet with heat resistant fishes can allow all to experience this sulfur free springs.
Written October 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Eric F
Fort Myers, FL140 contributions
Much Better Than Expected
Jun 2020 • Family
This park has earned a reputation as one of the worst national parks. While it is technically near the bottom of my list, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the park. I started at Gulpha Gorge Campground. I enjoyed the creek near the sites. At Bathhouse Row, I admired the springs, architecture, and quiet Grand Promenade Trail. One issue I have is that right across the street, there is a rundown tourist town called Hot Springs that I hated more than Gatlinburg. The Hot Springs Mountain Scenic Drive is short and not great, but the Hot Springs Mountain Trail is nice. Later, I hiked the Balance Rock spur of Sunset Trail. I thought I saw a gray fox, but it was hiding so I don’t know. The rocks were large and cool. While at that trail, I also saw a deer that unfortunately had a metal can on its nose. I returned to Gulpha Gorge later and hiked the trail with the same name. I walked across the creek and saw the overlook at Goat Rock with bright green mountains. The best parts of the park are the quiet trails, glimpses of nice landscapes, and surprisingly diverse wildlife. I saw insects like bees, butterflies, and dragonflies. There were birds such as cardinals, robins, and some wild turkeys outside the park. There were lizards and salamanders all around. Even better, there were mammals like squirrels, deer, and the potential fox. Overall, the scenery was unimpressive compared to nearly every other national park and the city is run down and somewhat sketchy. However, I enjoyed the quiet trails, small-scale scenery, wildlife, and architecture. The history the park is most known for was not particularly interesting, but some may get a kick out of it. Of the 35 parks I’ve been to, this unfortunately ranks at 32, but it is still nice and worth a visit if you are in Arkansas or even Memphis. I liked the park and it’s not terrible. It is actually nice.
Written June 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
masonkyle
23 contributions
Different than other National Parks
Jul 2022
My wife and I are National Park enthusiasts, so a stop here was inevitable for us. We found this park to be significantly different than we were expecting and had to adjust our plans, and our expectations, accordingly. Two things I wish I had known going in;

1) Preservation of the bathhouses, and the springs they draw from, are the main purpose of this park. The park's trails and surrounding Ouachita mountains are essentially ancillary to the bathhouses.

2) Hot Springs, AR is a resort town. The town was overrun with vacationers who were completely oblivious to the fact that they were in a national park. The town offers shopping, dining, and a plethora of similar "touristy" services not seen around other national parks.

We found the park and its history to be enjoyable and we had a good time. However, if you come here expecting to be surrounded by nature or looking to get away from people you'll be disappointed. No matter where you go or what you do here it will be evident that you are in a city, even on the trails.

Our itinerary gave us three days here but we felt two full days was enough to experience everything the National Park had to offer, including a bathing & spa experience at the Quapaw Bathhouse. We ended up leaving early in order to spend more time at other destinations. We enjoyed our time, even though it wasn't what we expected.
Written July 25, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bill K
Mantorville, MN6,372 contributions
Unique National Park
Dec 2020
This is one of the smallest of the U.S. National Parks. It is also one of the more interesting settings for a national park.

A large part of the park is in a city setting with historical bathhouses that used the natural hot spring water to attract visitors from all over the world. The other part is a wooded park on the mountain behind the bathhouses. The park trails are an easy hike for most and provide a great view of the surrounding area. There is a tower at the top that is a fun spot as well. It was quite foggy on the day I visited, so I don't have a lot of photographic evidence to provide here.

Only two of the bathhouses are still in use as bathhouses, and neither were open on my visit due to COVID-19. A couple of them are now bar/restaurants, one is a boutique hotel, one is used for the visitor center, and one is a gift shop.

The hot springs and the water it provides is the star here. I have to admit...I just sat for a while and watched people pull up in vans with dozens of gallon jugs to fill from the dispensers located around the park.

Hot Springs National Park is like no other national park I have visited.
Written January 3, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SolidStateS15
Lexington Park, MD61 contributions
Unimpressed, sad for a Nat'l Park.
Jul 2022 • Family
The park literally is a city block, not a typical national park. The springs are all part of expensive bathhouse hotels and hardly any are public accessible. There's one location that has a mountain spring flowing down into a pool for the public to see but that's about it. Otherwise it's just walking through the tiny shops in the town. We also went on the scenic drive up the mountain by the tower, which was nice but not impressive. There's nothing to see but one overlook at the top and the tower is $20 a person to ride up, so not worth it at all, rip off. It should be free in a Nat'l Park, but the tower is independent. The gift shop in the tower is nice though.
Written July 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JoAnn Hyde
Richland, United States8 contributions
Very interesting park
Jan 2020 • Couples
This is a very interesting and unique national park. It is actually in town and encompasses bath house row. These bath houses were first built in the 1800's. They had many people come to use them from many miles away. They believed these were healing waters. These are closed now but there is still a bath house you can go for about $20.00. The Fordyce bathhouse is the visitor center and museum. As I said it is quite interesting. I recommend a visit.
Written January 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gretchen S
McKinney, TX38 contributions
Wonderful tour!
Feb 2020
Park Ranger tour of the Fordyce Bathhouse is a must if you want to understand how Hot Springs was in the early 1900s. The 11am tour of the bathhouse was very informative, fun and educational. I highly recommend taking 30 minutes to do this free event.
Written February 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
parasols2
Detroit, MI120 contributions
Nice National Parkm and they don't charge an entrance fee!
Sep 2022
I only gave this 4 stars out of 5 only because it isn't as great as other National Parks. But there is a lot of history here, seeing how the old bathhouse worked, and a nice scenis drive to the top of the mountain where the lookout tower is, They charged us $10 each to go up (senior rate saves $2ea). Glad we went when the kids were back in school. We went to the Quapaw Bathhouse, and will post a review at that attraction.
Written September 19, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andy P
Paris, IL216 contributions
Another national park
Jul 2021 • Family
This park was celebrating its 100th anniversary this year so that was cool. This is one of the most visited national park, due in fact that it is close to 2/3 of Americans and is one of the few national parks that is free. This is the smallest national park and the only one to have a city in the park. Once you leave the city there are a few mountains that can be reached by car or hiking. There is also a hiking trail in the city. You will find two fountains for gathering water, one is cool mountain spring water, the other is the hot spring water coming from the earth. This is probably the most unique national park I have ever visited.
Written July 8, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Hot Springs National Park - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Hot Springs National Park
Hot Springs National Park is open:
  • Sun - Sat 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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