Hot Springs National Park
This park is quite unique in that it is
both urban and rural.
The bath house row, the most famous part of
the park, sits right in the center of downtown Hot Springs.
It is surrounded by shops, hotels, government buildings, and commercial offices, all bustling with both cars and pedestrians.
It is surrounded by shops, hotels, government buildings, and commercial offices, all bustling with both cars and pedestrians.
Surrounding the urban section are miles and miles
of trails through the mountains on either side of the town.
The Hot Springs National Park
Visitors Center is inside one of the bath houses on bath house row.
Taking a free tour of the bath house will enlighten and delight you.
Bath house row, built in the early 1900's, stands as a testament to the opulence and luxury of the time. The use of decorative tiles, marble, stained glass, and sculptures abound.
The bath houses had separate areas for men and women. With
a focus on healing methods, each area incorporated baths, steam
rooms, cooling rooms, and massage rooms, all set in luxurious
settings.
Exercise machines and electro-therapy machines, added to
the healing mindset. It is not hard to imagine that much of this
equipment, and many of these devices, were the forerunners of
physical therapy and modern exercise gyms.
A couple of the other bath houses
still have baths where you can enjoy the Hot Springs waters.
.
The view from the tower atop one of the mountains gives you a magnificent view of Hot Springs as well as the surrounding area.
After driving around town admiring some of the old architecture, and a nice drive around the mountain rims, we headed back to Searcy to our motorhome
We truly enjoyed this little retirement side trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas.
