Exploring Hot Springs National Park

Hot Springs National Park is one of the more unique parks we have visited. The park is considered an “Urban Park” being surrounded with city shops, restaurants, and breweries. Even though it is considered an “Urban Park” you still can go within the mountains and enjoy secluded private hikes that will make you forget about all the city life.

One thing I really enjoy about Hot Springs National Park is there is not a lot of visitors here. When we were hiking and enjoying the park, we did not come across many other hikers, and we never walked up to a traffic jam. We were able to really have a private, relaxing, enjoyable hike without all the crowds. Now, once you go into the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas this is a whole different story. It was packed in town, for good reason, as there is a whole lot of fun to be had on Bathhouse row. We will get to that a little later on.

Hot Springs National Park is a free park to access. There is free parking in town and plenty of metered parking along the road. Once you get into the mountain you can visit the Hot Spring Mountain Tower and enjoy views of the park and surrounding areas. At this location you can park for free, enjoying the hiking trails and picnic areas within the park. In this post we are going to cover our amazing weekend we spent in Hot Springs National Park. We will cover hiking trails, food we ate, and my wife enjoying a spa day. If you are looking for a campsite please see our post on the Hot Springs National Park KOA Holiday….

Buckstaff Bathhouse

I am always on the lookout for unique experiences that each National Park may offer. Well this one would have gone unnoticed if it was not for my wife. She found the Buckstaff Bathhouse and immediately knew that she just had to go and partake in this one of a kind experience.

The Buckstaff Bathhouse has been in continuous operation since 1912. They still are serving the customers with the same experience that they did back when they opened. This is the ultimate Hot Springs National Park experience.

Heading into the bathhouse you can enjoy a 102-degree mineral bath with waters straight from the earth. The same water that has made Hot Springs National Park famous all over the globe. I recommend getting the Deluxe Bathing Package. This will give you a mineral bath, a loofa mitt, paraffin treatment for your hands, and a 20-minute massage.

The hot mineral bath is perfect for anyone that has joint pain, arthritis, muscle pain, and stress. Laying back into the healing waters of the mountains is the perfect way to melt away all your stress. I cannot think of a better way to enjoy Hot Springs National Park. It is a great way to cut back and enjoy your vacation for a very reasonable price.

Hot Springs National Park Eat and Drink

Not surprising there are a lot of places to choose to try to grab a drink or a bite to eat. Since this park is located right in the center of town, your possibilities are endless. We were visiting over a long weekend and tried to go out and grab some local cuisine everyday we were there. Of course there were a lot of places we did not try, but I still wanted to share with everyone our favorite family friendly places we ate at. As everyone knows, going to local places to eat and drink is one of my favorite things to do on every trip we take. What can I say, I love food!!

Superior Bathhouse Brewery

The Superior Bathhouse Brewery has a rich history in the Hot Springs National Park. The building was originally built in 1916 and served as a bathhouse until its closure in 1983. After the bathhouse closed the building stayed empty for 30 years until Superior Bathhouse Brewery purchased the building and started renovations in 2013.

Superior Bathhouse Brewery is the only Brewery within any US National Park. Not only that but it is the only Brewery in the world using natural thermal water in their beer. You are not going to find a more unique place to spend the evening eating great food and getting some flights of unique brews.

Even though it is a brewery, it is super family friendly. We went there for dinner with the family and we did not feel out of place by any means. They even make their own root beer that my kids could not get enough of. The perfect day may just be a early morning hike, a soak in the Buckstaff Bathhouse, then finishing the day off with some flights at Superior Bathhouse Brewery!!

Food and Beer we enjoyed

Superior Bathhouse Brewery has American food made their own unique way. I ordered the Rose’s Burger that was a loaded hand patted burger, with bacon jam and gouda on a Hawaiian bun. Kaitlin ordered the Boch Boch chicken tenders; these are made with the Goat Rock Boch beer batter then fried to perfection. The boys were able to share a fancy grilled cheese sandwich that is made with gouda, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses. There was enough there for them to share and for daddy to finish later that night in the camper.

As far as the brews go, I really enjoyed majority of the beer I tried. My absolute favorite beer was the foul play. It is their version of an Oatmeal Stout with hints of chocolate and coffee. It is a very rich, thick beer that I really enjoyed. If you cannot narrow down what you want to order, take the “Beer Bath” and get a small sample of all 18 beers they offer. There just is not a restaurant that screams Hot Spring National Park like Superior Bathhouse Brewery. It is definitely a must eat location for us.

Taco Mama

If you are looking for a more traditional location to eat at, I suggest trying out Taco Mama. You will enjoy the friendly staff and of course the perfect margaritas. All the food at Taco mama is made fresh daily; you can taste the quality of the food they serve here.  I suggest trying out the Nacho Mama, all in all it is a loaded Nacho dish with beans, queso cheese, jack cheese, and avocado crème drizzle. You can also get the same dish with fries instead of nachos, that is called the Frychos. I personally prefer the fries over the Nachos. Can’t get enough carbs!!  

While you are at Taco Mama’s make sure you try one of their margaritas. They have 10 specialty margaritas on the menu. I enjoyed a beer margarita, this is a traditional margarita made with Dos XX Amber beer. It’s a great drink for those of us that like margaritas but don’t like the sweetness of them. This will give you a more bitter, smooth taste having the beer calm down the sweetness of a margarita.

Fat Bottomed Girls Cupcake Shoppe

There is no food list that is complete without including dessert. I freaking love my sweets and coming across a place called Fat Bottom Girls Cupcake Shoppe was such a pleasant surprise for the kids and myself. We actually discovered this fabulous cupcake shop because of the the line that was snaking its way out of the door and onto the sidewalk. We figured if people were willing to stand in line for a cupcake, they must be good right?? Boy were we surprised when we finally got to bite into our perfect cupcakes.

The Fat Bottomed Girls Cupcake Shoppe was actually featured on Food Network and Cupcake Wars. I must admit that I really do not watch these networks or shows but I do eat cupcakes. I can tell you that these will cure any sweet tooth you may have. There are so many flavors to choose from, I actually found it difficult to narrow it down to the one I wanted to order. I ended up ordering the Banana Crème Pie cupcake and it was not a disappointment. In not opinion you cannot go to Hot Springs National Park without checking out Fat Bottomed Girls Cupcake Shoppe. 

Hot Springs National Park Hiking Trails

There is no shortage of quality hikes in the Hot Springs National Park. Unfortunately what we found was much of these hikes are more challenging than our kids were capable of being able to handle. That did not stop us from finding some beautiful hikes both in the mountains, and in the city. We found some hikes that offered both amazing landscape views as well as some unique hot springs that the kids can actually go up to and touch. So, I wanted to share these hikes with all of you!

The Grande Promenade

I am not really sure you can count this as a hike. Its more of a walk downtown. With that being said I am going to include it because it is a really enjoyable walk that I am happy to have taken. This “trail” is completely paved with brick, it’s a very easy walk. If you can walk down a sidewalk, you can walk this trail.

The Grande Promenade is a half a mile walk, modeled after a walkway in Havana, Cuba. The walkway is sophisticated, beautiful, and peaceful. Running directly behind Bathhouse Row, you can access the trail from Bathhouse Row, going past The Stevens Balustrade Shell Fountain. Make sure that you check out the display springs located just North of The Steven Balustrade Shell Fountain. It is a really beautiful Spring you can get right on top of and actually touch the water. It is my favorite Spring we saw at the park.

Once you reach the end of The Grand Promenade, you will come across one of the many filling stations that allows you to bring empty gallons jugs and fill them for free with the Natural Hot Springs mineral water. I suggest bringing your own jugs and taking some of the famous water back home with you.

Hot Springs Mountain Trail

The Hot Springs Mountain Trail is the perfect trail to take when you want to get away from the city. Located within the National Park, you can take Mountain Dr off of Fountain St and you will eventually get to the trail. This trail is not paved, but it is a well-established trial. Hot Springs Mountain Trail that is considered easy in difficulty. The trail is 3.3 miles long and experiences 672 ft in elevation change.

Even though the trail is rated as easy with minimal elevation gain, we still found parts of it to be steep. The kids loved the trail and I must say they keep this trail very well maintained. It’s a family friendly trail that will allow you to feel like you are in a National Park.

Peak Trail

Peak Trail is going to give you the best views in Hot Springs National Park. This is located right in the heart of the National Park and will end up taking you to the Lookout Tower. No matter if you decide to go up in the tower or just enjoy the trail, you will get great photos of Hot Springs National Park as the surrounding cities.

Peak Trail is an easy trail that is 1.3 miles long and has an elevation change of only 406 ft. The numbers are not the whole story though, I think this trail should be considered moderate, as there are steep inclines and only part of the trail is paved. Either way it is a great family friendly trail that is worth tackling, the views will make it all the more worth the climb.

Thermal Spring Locations

As I had mentioned before, if you are visiting Hot Springs National Park you are here for the Hot Springs and Mineral Water. Therefore, make sure you bring some empty jugs with you and head to one of the filling stations. Here you can fill your jug with the Natural Mineral Water straight from the earth. I wanted to include some of the locations we saw filling stations, these are free and are set up to fill jugs.
On Reserve St in front of the Libbey Memorial Physical Medicine Center
On Reserve St in front of the National Park Service Administration Building
Between the Hale and Maurice Bathhouses on the Bathhouse Row
Noble Fountain
Dripping Spring between the Hale and Maurice Bathhouses on Bathhouse Row
The Shell Fountain on the Stevens Balustrade

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