Hot Springs National Park

101 Reserve Street
Hot Springs, AR 71901

Phone
Visitor Information
(501) 624-2701
Park Headquarters
(501) 623-2824

WELCOME to Hot Springs National Park

Hot Springs in the Middle of Town

Water. That’s what attracts people to Hot Springs.

People have used the hot springs here for more than two hundred years to treat illnesses and to relax. 

Both rich and poor came for the baths, and a town built up around the Hot Springs Reservation to accommodate them. Together nicknamed "The American Spa,” Hot Springs National Park today surrounds the north end of the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas.

History

Hot Springs National Park has a rich history. The park has prehistoric American Indian novaculite quarries. It was the destination of the Dunbar-Hunter Expedition sent by President Jefferson in 1804. A bustling town grew up around the hot springs to provide services for health seekers. 

Central to the American Spa was the bathing industry. The Public Health Service Clinic that was in conjunction with the Government Free Bathhouse was one of the first facilities in the United States to use penicillin.

Hot Springs National Park has natural areas, historic buildings and cultural landscapes. You can:

• Tour the park visitor center in the historic Fordyce Bathhouse
• Stroll by the eight historic bathhouses and the Grand Promenade, located within Bathhouse Row National Historic Landmark District
• Hike some of the park's 26 miles of trails
• Drive scenic mountain roads--Hot Springs and North Mountain Drives and West Mountain Drive
• Picnic on the mountains or by Gulpha Creek
• Camp at Gulpha Gorge Campground
• Take a bath!

Places to Picnic

• Gulpha Gorge
• Hot Springs Mountain Tower
• West Mt. Summit Drive Shelter