Hey friends, welcome back to Grand Adventure!
I'm your host Marc Guido, and welcome to Hot Springs, Arkansas!
We're going to explore Hot Springs National Park
and the surrounding area from our base camp here at the Hot Springs National
Park KOA. so stick around!
Hot Springs became a National Park in 1921,
but amazingly, an act of the U.S. Congress created Hot Springs Reservation to
preserve the area for future recreation way back in 1832, nearly a century before
the concept of a National Park even existed! Hot Springs National Park
is unique in our country's National Park system
in that it focuses on the preservation of some urban structures,
yet it includes some beautiful natural areas as well.
It is centered around Bath House Row, currently consisting of eight
bath house buildings that were constructed between 1892
and 1923. Designated as a National Historic Landmark District,
Bath House Row contains the grandest collection of bath houses of its kind in
North America, including many outstanding examples of
Gilded Age architecture.
The row's Fordyce Bath House serves as the park's Visitor Center.
The Buckstaff and Quapaw are the only buildings still operating as bath houses,
where reservations can be made for various services.
Other buildings of the row are used for other purposes,
like this brewery now operating out of the Superior Bath House.
The hot spring water that tumbles from a number of springs lining the western
slope of Hot Springs Mountain has for centuries been believed to
possess medicinal properties, and was a subject of legend among
several Native American tribes, who referred to the area as "valley of
the vapors." At the time of Spanish explorer Hernando
DeSoto's arrival in the area in 1541, he was the first
known European to see the springs. The flow consists of well over a half
million gallons per day.
Interestingly, only the east side of Central Avenue
is within the National Park. The street's west side
is lined by shops, restaurants and tourist attractions.
Over time the National Park has acquired natural land
adjacent to Bath House Row, to expand into more natural
areas and to preserve the quality of the water emanating from the springs.
To the east the park encompasses Hot Springs Mountain,
and to the west it includes, well ... West Mountain.
Both are crisscrossed by numerous hiking trails and winding tree-lined roadways.
There's been an observation tower atop Hot Springs Mountain since 1877.
Today's 214 foot-tall structure opened in 1983
as the third such tower on this site.
Our campground is barely visible over there in the trees.
We'll share more about that in just a few minutes.
The Ouachita Mountains straddle western Arkansas
and southeastern Oklahoma. Hot Springs sits on the range's southern edge.
Northwest of town, and within the mountains and completely surrounded by
the Ouachita National Forest, Lake Ouachita is the largest lake
entirely within Arkansas, with over 690 miles of shoreline.
Lake Ouachita was formed when the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers built the Bagnell Dam
on the Ouachita River. Further downstream the river flows into Lake Hamilton in
suburban Hot Springs, contributing mightily to the city's
tourism industry. Much of the lake is surrounded with
resorts, restaurants and motels. Parasailing, boating, fishing and water
skiing are all popular on Lake Hamilton.
We're in Hot Springs over the July 4th Independence Day holiday,
so we've come down to Lake Hamilton to join many locals and visitors to watch
an impressive holiday fireworks display.
Two miles east of Bath House Row, the National Park Service
operates Gulpha Gorge Campground along Gulpha Creek within Hot Springs National
Park, for both tent campers and those with RVs, for $30
per night. All sites have full hookups, both 30 and
50 amps. Sites are available on a first come,
first served basis. You cannot make a reservation. It's
probably also the only National Park campground in the U.S.
that's within walking distance of a strip club, another strange anomaly of
Hot Springs National Park's unique urban and natural conglomeration.
We're staying another mile or so further east at the Hot Springs National Park
KOA, uniquely terraced into a steep hillside.
Some sites are a little tight, but facilities include a popular swimming
pool, laundry so that we could get our chores
done, a free stocked fishing pond, game room, and this wonderful dog park
that Zoe absolutely loved. Our back-in 30-amp full hookup
site costs $38 per night mid-week, and
$41 on weekends and holidays.
So we truly hope that you've enjoyed coming along with us to Hot Springs,
Arkansas! Coming up next Wednesday night we're
going to take our #AmericanHeartlandTour2020 to Branson, Missouri,
so if you're not yet a Grand Adventurer this is the perfect time -- go
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