Hot Springs National Park

The RV Struggle: "City vs. Park"

Hot Springs is the only National Park that is essentially a downtown nationa park. While the city visitor center has those four precious RV spots, they were difficult to snag. From campervans, that actually had people sleeping in them to small cars, those spots were constantly filled. The park actually recommends the Hill Wheatley Plaza (629 Central Ave) or the lot on Reserve Street (just south of the Fordyce Bathhouse). These are designed for oversized vehicles, but even then, they fill up fast. Because the park and the city of Hot Springs are so intertwined, the "National Park vibe" can sometimes be overshadowed by urban issues. My honest observation, the transition from the beautiful, historic Bathhouse Row to the surrounding city blocks can feel quite jarring and very sketchy. While I was driving around waiting for a spot to ope, I had someone riding a bike that yelled nonsensical words at me while they rode by and then saw cops responding to a domestic situation. 

Bathhouse Row & The Junior Ranger Success

Despite the parking stress, our kids enjoyed completing their junior ranger booklet and earning their junior ranger badge at the Fordyce Bathhouse! The Fordyce is the museum we visited.  Walking through the marble-lined rooms and seeing the vintage "electro-therapy" machines really drives home how "high-tech" health was considered 100 years ago. Earning a badge here is special because it focuses on conservation and history. The oath the kids took at the Fordyce is a promise to protect the very water they saw bubbling out of the earth.

Liquid Gold: Filling Up the Jugs

Tasting the water is the most "interactive" part of the park. The "Magic" Water, you can bring your own containers and fill them up at several locations. The water in the jugs could be roughly 4,000 years old. It began as rain in the surrounding mountains, sank thousands of feet underground where it was heated by natural geothermal pressure, and then rose back up through the Hot Springs Fault. Unlike most hot springs in the world, the water here has virtually no sulfur. That’s why it’s so popular for drinking, it just tastes like incredibly pure, hot mineral water. The most popular spots are the Libbey Memorial fountains on Reserve Street and the Hill Wheatley Plaza.