I can’t get over how bathhouses looks. It’s just so weird. I love them. Ok, I’ll pretend I’m over it now. You probably read about hiking in Hot Springs already, if not, click that so you can! This time, I’m going to show you the bathhouses (still weird) of Hot Springs National Park. I figured I wouldn’t have another chance to visit this park and after reading about it, we decided to go because how often will we really be going through Arkansas? I’ve already mentioned how cool of a park this is, but I’ll go into it a little more here.
I loved Hot Springs because it was so different. Most people feel the opposite. There were tons of hiking trails in the mountains around the town. Then there was the town where you could learn about the history of the springs and bathhouses as well as eat delicious food, drink delicious coffee, and buy every souvenir you can imagine.
If you’re looking for souvenirs, I would look around town. The gift shop in the bathhouse was not the most exciting and didn’t have tons of stuff. They did have a lot of bath and soap stuff that looked kind of cool, though. If that’s your thing or you want official postcards or stickers, check it out. If you can’t find anything there, go up the mountain to the lookout tower gift shop.
The bathhouses have all been turned into different things. There is a brewery/restaurant in Superior Bathhouse, which we really enjoyed, an art gallery, a spa, a visitors center, and a gift shop. They aren’t all open everyday, so if there is a specific one you want to see, check the hours before going to plan accordingly. Like I said, I would wander around town, explore the bathhouses, visit the brewery one day then go hiking another. Or hike early and relax in town with dinner at the brewery if you’re shorter on time.
Tips for visiting Hot Springs, Arkansas:
- The Colonial has delicious breakfast. I would highly recommend it. They close mid afternoon.
- It’s a great stop on a fall road trip so you can see the leaves changing.
- For coffee, head to Kollective Coffee. The sandwiches here sounded really good. This would also be a good place to relax or do work if you needed.
- Superior Bathhouse Brewery is the farthest to the left if you’re facing them. The root beer and double IPA are really good.
- Fill up some water bottles at the cool, natural springs. It’s delicious and safe to drink. You can get a map of these at the visitors center.
Have you been to Hot Springs? What did you do there? What did you think of it? Do you want to go?
If you’re still in Hot Springs for a while I’d recommend going Geocaching. While it’s a fun hobby practically everywhere, Hot Springs has some very unique locations that never stopped surprising me even after years of living there. I still remember once finding an old unmarked grave that was over 100 years old hiking through the woods as well as some nearly forgotten historical markers near the national park.
Ahh that sounds awesome! Unfortunately I was only there for like a day in November, but if I’m ever back ill definitely try geocaching! I love doing it at home and it was actually something I wanted to do more of this year!