Hot Springs National Park Trails

Introduction.

Hot Springs National Park is a relatively small sized park located in the midst of Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is the oldest protected area in the National Park system, although officially Yellowstone was named the first National Park some 40 years after Hot Springs was designated as protected. On either side of famous Bathhouse Row, the park expands out through North Mountain and West Mountain. While Hot Springs is best known for the 47 hot springs that come from the North Mountain, walking paths have long been a part of the Hot Springs experience and the overall health consciousness of the area, where people have been using the thermal hot springs for therapeutic baths for millennia.

As for the water itself, it is naturally potable (good to drink) and Hot Springs National Park is the only park that is mandated to give away its primary natural resource to the general public in an unending and unaltered state. In spite of what we were told prior to arriving, there is no taste or odor to the water, you just have to let it cool a bit before drinking it. An added note, for those that partake, check out the Superior Bathhouse Brewery, where they brew there products using the Hot Spring water.

General logistics information.

Hot Springs National Park trails are accessible directly from the center of the town of Hot Springs. There are multiple lodging options along Bathhouse Row, which effectively put you inside the park and in short walking distance to the Fordyce Bath House Visitor Center and many of the park's trails. Additionally, there are many other lodging options in close proximity, including on Lake Hamilton. Restaurants and shopping are also easily accessible in Hot Springs and surrounding areas.

Statistics state that many visitors are simply day trippers, though we found with a number of activities in Hot Springs National Park, the lake area, and the relatively close crystal mines, there was plenty of activities to keep up busy for multiple days. This post will review the highlights of our visit and provide some detailed information on exploring Hot Springs National Park trails.

Hot Springs National Park Trails.

• As always, we believe it is a must to stop at the Visitor’s Center. The Fordyce Visitor Center is particularly interesting as it is one of the original bathhouses and has been fully restored to its original grandeur. I would highly recommend that you take the Park Ranger guided tour of the Visitor's Center, which provides great historical information and also some good entertainment.
• Regarding Hot Springs National Park trails, our plan was to start on the North Mountain side and connect through a variety of trails for our adventure.
• We started behind the Fordyce Visitor Center and took Dead Cheif's trail, connected to Gulpha Gorge trail, connected to the eastern side of Hot Springs Mountain trail, and worked our way back towards town by connecting to Short Cut trail.
• Along these trails we enjoyed interesting rock formations, varieties of wildflowers, shelter structures, and beautiful wooded scenery.

• Our next major hiking event was also on the North Mountain.
• Again, starting behind the Visitor's Center, take Peak trail, connect to Honeysuckle trail, connect to the western side of Hot Springs Mountain trail, connect to Upper Dogwood trail, connect to Gulpha Gorge trail, connect to Goat Rock trail, and make your way to the top of Goat Rock.

• Continue on Goat Rock trail, detour off to North Mountain Overlook, connect back to Upper Dogwood trail, connect to Lower Dogwood trail, connect to Arlington trail, and end your hike by passing through the famous Arlington Hotel and viewing their magnificent lobby from the grand old days.

• After completing this hiking, we drove back up North Mountain to the Mountain Tower and opted to take the elevator to the top for the views.
• This was a nice way to end our day and gave us great views of the entire area we had hiked on the North Mountain and what was ahead of us over on West Mountain.

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• For our next hiking adventure, we made our way up Bathhouse Row to the start of Canyon trail.
• From Canyon trail we connected to the northern side of West Mountain trail, then connected to Mountain Top trail, made the detour to West Mountain Summit, connected to the southern side of West Mountain trail, connected to Oak trail, and connected to Canyon trail to take us back to the starting point.
• This hike provided some solid hiking work, gave us some wonderful area views, and not surprisingly provided a few local deer sharing the woods with us.

• Our last adventure on Hot Springs National Park trails was split into 2 different areas of Sunset trail.
• We started on the West Mountain side and headed towards Balanced Rock.
• This hike is a steep climb to start and can be challenging. After the initial climb, it mostly levels out and eventually takes you to Balanced Rock, which has much interesting history.
• After viewing and some photos, we headed back to the starting point and a drive over to the Gulpha Gorge camping area for the next hike.

• Starting from Glupha Gorge campground, we took Sunset trail towards Ricks Pond.
• This was another hike with some climbing and viewing of interesting and unusual wildflowers. After about .7 miles you have to cross the road to reach the Ricks Pond destination.

• As an added bonus, before returning on the hike back to the Gulpha Gorge campgrounds, you can stop at one of the local favorites, Mickey's BBQ for some lunch.

• While my focus was intended to provide tips on Hot Springs National Park trails, here are a few other closing informational points.
• A short distance outside downtown Hot Springs, you can find Oaklawn Racing and Gaming park, which provides some optional entertainment during your visit.
• Within an hour drive of Hot Springs, there are multiple areas where you can dig for crystals (e.g. Russellville, Mount Ida), which can be fun, possibly profitable, and is a good family option.
• Some specific restaurant recommendations includes Rolando's Restaurante and Via Roma.
• At Lake Hamilton, less than 10 miles from the center of Hot Springs, you can find many water activities and water rental options.