When we arrived (Sunday, 10/5), the air temperature was a scorching and humid 93° F! We have been spared high temps this Summer in Canada and Alaska and wanting to take advantage of the HOT SPRINGS, we didn’t expect the air to be this hot. But we relaxed in the afternoon and visited the visitor center after walking Rocket near the creek in the park’s Gulpha Gorge campground. Luckily they have hookups, and we could run the air conditioner and hook up to water. We had a vicious thunderstorm the first night, and awoke to Rocket tearing up carpet, scratching the screen door and trying to escape the scary thunder and flashing lightning. Consequently it was a bit of a restless night for all, but the next morning we all got out by 8:30am to hike - knowing that Monday’s temps were to be in the 70’s and that afterward we could take a soak in the hot springs. |
The park’s visitor center is different than most parks too in that it’s housed in the Fordyce Bathhouse, a historic building built in 1915 and modeled on the spas of Europe. Hot Springs is a town built around 47 hot springs which deliver 700,000 gallons a day that the park collects for use in public drinking fountains and bathhouses. The public can wander the visitor center up and down several floors and see the old tubs and private rooms where people during the Golden Age immersed themselves in therapeutic water piped into various bath houses. Before it was designated as a national park, the federal government in 1832 set aside land where the hot springs are as a “reservation.” Over time Hot Springs became known as the “American Spa” and by 1921 was designated as a national park. It was a popular place for health remedy seekers, and some believe that the traces of minerals and average temperature of 143° F give the water therapeutic properties. For all the chemists reading this, it contains in parts per million Silica 53.0, Calcium 47.0, Magnesium 4.9, Sodium 4.0, Potassium1.4, Free Carbon Dioxide 9.7, Bicarbonate 130.0, Sulfate 7.8, Chloride 2.2, Fluoride .026, and Oxygen 4.5, and scientists have determined that the water coming from the springs is 4000 years old! |
American Indians bathed in the springs, and French trappers, hunters and traders became interested in the springs in the 1700’s and 1800’s. And the Army/Navy hospital’s use of spring water for treatments boosted the fame of the place after WWII. By the 1950’s the decline in water therapies led to closure of some of the bathhouses, but the Buckstaff has remained in continuous use since it opened in 1912. Their operation has the traditional methods used in the early 1900’s which include tub bath, hot packs, vapor cabinet (like a metal box you sit in with a cut out for your head to pop from), needle shower, and sitz bath ($35). That’s where I wanted to go after a 14 mile hike on Monday, but I had to settle for something else instead. It all started with that storm the night the before... |
If you come to Hot Springs, I highly recommend you take advantage of the water here...you drink from the elixir at the decorative fountains, find the open hot springs (many have been covered with green metal tops to protect the water quality) or that you soak in the baths (mind you the 143° is cooled a bit for your comfort). The town has a vibrant, bustling look with many old buildings restored, and restaurants and shopping options are abundant. There are cupcake shops, ice cream parlors (yes Terry sampled on the 93° day), bath soap and salt shops and gifts and curio stores along Central Ave (the street above the water channels). And there are 26 miles of hiking trails with oak and hickory forest and an excellent campground on the shallow creek where children and dogs (plus a few adults) like to cool off. Situated about 55 miles southwest of Little Rock in the Zig Zag Mountains and on the eastern edge of the Ouachita Mountains, Hot Springs is a neat little town with the lure of therapeutic water to sooth your bones. | Our plan was to hike 10 miles starting at 7am, be finished by lunch, eat something at the RV and then drive to town (a few miles) for a soak. Instead we got going at 8:45am and the 10 miles turned into 14. The day before, the ranger at the VC gave us a map with a highlighted circle looping the Sunset Trail (9.8 miles) from the campground & ending near town to some squiggly lines and trails returning us to the campground. Once underway Monday morning, we soon realized that the squiggly lines added quite a bit more than .2 miles - even though he led us to believe that the whole loop was about 10 miles. No matter though, the hiking was not difficult and we like long hikes. We had enough water and the temperature was cool when we started, never reaching above 72°F. BUT what I didn’t realize was that the Buckstaff closed at 3pm. By the time we finished, changed in the RV, grabbed a snack and drove to town, it was after 3pm. I was alone at this point since Terry decided not to soak. Even before we started the hike I had lower back pain that gave me discomfort most of the hike, even after three Advil. And boy did I look forward to a soak. I chose the private bath at the Quapaw Bathhouse. Both the Quapaw and Buckstaff bathhouses are run by private companies but are regulated and inspected by the National Park Service. They are situated on Bathhouse row along with one restored bathouse that has become the Museum of Contemporary Art in Hot Springs while several others have been restored and are for lease. You can soak in the public pool at the Quapaw for $20, or take a private soak for $30, or a couples bath for $45 - these prices are for 20-minute soaks. (Massage and facials, foot conditioning, bamboo fusion and hot stone are additional treatments.) The bath has whirlpool jets, lights that change colors, and bath salts can be added from an array of aromatherapy scents for $5. Afterwards, there’s a cool down room nicely decorated with tables and flowers, and you’re given a cold peppermint scented towel to wrap around your face or neck to help you cool down along with a glass of cucumber water and lavender scented lotion ( but I was surprised that the pool didn’t dry my skin out). (The couples that I saw had terry cloth robes they enjoyed while lounging in the cool down room.) |