Hot Springs National Park is different from the other National Parks we have gone to because there is no formal entrance to the park.  Part of the town of Hot Springs is in the National Park and part is not.

Since it was afternoon and pretty hot, instead of walking around we decided to take the Hot Springs Mountain Drive.  We got to the 216′ Mountain Tower (see picture below) and climbed to the top. Well OK, we actually took the elevator, but I would have climbed if they would have let me (and I didn’t have my flip-flops on).  There were some spectacular views of the surrounding area from the top.  I even got a senior discount for being 55+, my first one!

The next morning we went into town, parked the car and took a walk down Bathhouse Row. This is where all of the famous bathhouses are, some dating back to the early 1900’s.  Some are still open and operating today. Fordyce Bathhouse, in the center of Bathhouse row, was closed in 1962 and has now reopened as the National Park Visitor Center and you can take a tour and see its original splendor in 23 restored rooms.  Here are pictures of Bathhouse Row and the inside of the Fordyce Bathhouse.

  

There were a couple of places that you could feel the 140 degree water coming up from the ground (I wish we could get water that hot in the RV) and also places to fill up your water bottle with the cooled water.

And one last fun fact.  Did you know that  President Bill Clinton was from Hot Springs?