What to DoHot Springs
Hot Springs National Park: Visitor Guide
Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas has no entrance fee. Bathhouse Row, the two bathhouses that give baths, free spring water and the drive from Little Rock.
Hot Springs
A spa town in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, about 54 miles from Little Rock, built around the thermal springs of Hot Springs National Park.
Hot Springs National Park has no entrance fee. You pay only for a bath or for camping at Gulpha Gorge. Only two of the eight bathhouses on the row still give baths. The Buckstaff takes walk-ins from age 10, and its whirlpool mineral bath package is $45. The Quapaw has public thermal pools for age 14 and up, for $30.
The park gives away spring water free at its jug fountains. The NPS says the fountains run 24 hours a day all year, unless a sign says otherwise. The visitor center is in the Fordyce Bathhouse at 369 Central Avenue. Fordyce tours last 20 to 30 minutes and need no reservation. The Hot Water Cascade on Arlington Lawn is open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The Buckstaff is open Monday to Saturday, 8:00 to 11:45 a.m. and 1:15 to 3:00 p.m. On Sunday it opens in the morning only. The Quapaw is open Wednesday to Monday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and is closed Tuesday. The Grand Promenade, a brick path of about half a mile, runs behind the row.
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