This is the home stretch. Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs, AR was the last park we would visit on our trip. First though, we needed to cross Texas. We stopped at a couple of KOAs as we made our way back East. Frankly, we were thrilled to leave Texas.
Hot Springs was a beautiful city and we were just so happy to return to lush greenery – especially the dogs who were not made for the desert. We stayed at Gulpha Gorge campground which was located inside Hot Springs National Park. The campground was a proper camping experience with large, wooded sites that were not on top of each other. There was beautiful scenery, nice bathrooms, an attentive campground host, and full hook-ups.
The night we arrived, July 2, we decided to head into the National Park to make a game plan for the next day. I’m glad we did because it was not busy and we were able to find street parking and locate the visitor’s center. We walked along the Grand Promenade which runs behind Bathhouse Row. The visitor’s center was located inside one of the old bathhouses that had been converted. They were closing up for the night, but we were able to get a park map and some recommendations for what to do.
We had a nice quiet evening in the campground and slept late the next morning. Being a holiday weekend, the whole park was busy. It was very touristy, reminded me of Mackinac Island a bit – it was a different atmosphere than we had experienced at any of the other National Parks. The day was hot and humid and we decided to just take it easy and tour indoors as much as possible. The old bathhouses were beautiful and held lots of ornate architecture.
Outside the architecture was integrated with the natural environment. We were able to get close to a couple of open hot springs and feel the water – it was indeed hot! You could see steam rising off the water even in the middle of the hot and muggy day. I really enjoyed learning the geologic history of the area. We were touching water that had fallen as rain thousands of years ago! It’s easy to understand why so may people in the past thought the hot springs held healing powers. Many of the springs have been enclosed and locked and are not accessible to the public, even though you walk right by them.
After a short break for lunch back at the campground, we ventured back out to Mountain Tower. There was a parking area for the tower and for a fee, you can ride the elevator to the top. The views were gorgeous. You could see the busy bathhouse row below, but also look out over what seemed like endless wilderness. What a great way to end our National Park visits!
