Hot Springs, Arkansas, is like the little town that could — while its name gives away one of the main draws, there are plenty of other surprises to be experienced. The town sprang up around a cottage industry of “taking the waters,” and even today the namesake hot springs are reason enough to come here.
But there’s so much more to find: interesting museums, solid restaurants and an abundance of hiking trails in America’s second-smallest national park.
As always, check for travel restrictions and closures before planning your trip.
Friday: Get in Hot Water
Begin your morning by having breakfast at the Pancake Shop. The restaurant has been flipping griddle cakes since 1940 and is now a local institution. After breakfast, make your way into Hot Springs National Park. Here you’ll find Bathhouse Row, a collection of eight different grand and elegant bathhouses, all built between 1892 and 1923.
Stop first into Fordyce Bathhouse, which has been converted into a visitors center. Admire the intricately tiled floors, stained glass ceilings and sculpted fountains. All of the bathhouses are worthy of a look around, but Hale Bathhouse, the oldest on the row, has a sauna in a thermal cave carved into a cliffside.
Get your bathing suit on and take a dip at Buckstaff Bathhouse, the only one of the bathhouses visitors can still use as it was originally intended.
After your dip, pop into Superior Bathhouse. Today it functions as a brewery — the only one on the planet to make beer using thermal spring waters. Have a pint of beer and a snack for lunch. If your preferences lean toward grape rather than grain, grab a seat at the nearby Bathhouse Row Winery and sample a glass of Arkansas-made wine.
For dinner, you can’t do much better than eating at McClard’s. Since 1928, the McClard family has been churning out fork-tender barbecue. Don’t leave without trying the pork ribs and tamales.
Saturday: From Alligator-Spotting to Al Capone
Start your day off with a hot cup of coffee and a large stack of flapjacks at Colonial Pancake & Waffle House. If you woke up this morning and thought, “I really want to pet an alligator,” you’re in luck.
Central Hot Springs is home to the fun Arkansas Alligator Farm & Petting Zoo. Disclaimer: You can’t really pet the alligators, but you can get up-close and personal with these lizard-like beasts, and there are other friendly fauna for you to pet. Both kids and adults will be charmed.
For lunch, head over to Grateful Head Pizza Oven & Tap Room, one of the best/worst-named restaurants in town. Fortunately, the pizza here is stellar. It’s not a coincidence or a fluke that Hot Springs is home to the Gangster Museum of America.
There once was a time, after all, that this Arkansas city was a draw for some of the most legendary conmen and mafiosos — big names such as Al Capone “took the waters” here quite frequently. The museum is your next stop to learn about this fascinating history of Hot Springs and beyond.
Stick with the gangster theme at dinner and get a table at the Ohio Club. The restaurant has a colorful history: Opened in 1905 as a bar and casino, it then became a speakeasy during Prohibition, disguising itself as a cigar store. (Frequent visitors included the aforementioned Al Capone and notorious gangster Lucky Luciano.)
Today there’s no mafia meetings or illegal boozing, just solid food, including a delicious burger named after one of those legendary regulars: the “Big Al Double Burger.”
Sunday: Take a Hike
Begin your final day in Hot Springs at Mueller’s Bistro & Bakery. The big breakfast burrito and the biscuits and gravy are worth the visit in and of themselves. After all that hearty Arkansas fare, it’s time to walk off the meal with a hike in Hot Springs National Park, but first, stop by Café 1217, which specializes in to-go meals, and pick up some sandwiches for lunch.
There are several trails etched throughout America’s second-smallest national park, totaling 26 miles of paths. An easy-to-moderate option is to follow the Oertel Trail to Goat Rock to Upper Dogwood and then to Hot Springs Mountain and peak. It’s a 5.4-mile loop that offers stunning scenery, including nice views of the town and surrounding mountains.
And because it’s near-impossible to get enough of the views of Hot Springs, head next to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower. Rising 1,256 feet above sea level, the tower offers spectacular views of the Ouachita Mountains, Hot Springs Mountain and the Diamond Lakes — on a clear day, you can see for 140 miles.
Best of all, you’re whisked to the top in a glass elevator, so you need not worry about hiking to the top after that trek through the park.
Go from that expansive view to a more micro experience at Tiny Town, where visitors take a tour of a minuscule town. Everything is made from scratch, and it’s fascinating to see the great detail on every miniature. There’s even an interactive aspect, where visitors can make the residents of Tiny Town dance.
For dinner, head on over to Fisherman’s Wharf. Situated right on the banks of the Ouachita River, the restaurant has a great terrace from which to enjoy the view while grazing on locally caught catfish and trout.
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