Hot Springs, Arkansas
Last weekend I took a mini adventure to Hot Springs near my new current home of Little Rock, Arkansas. It took about an hour ride from Little Rock (good to know if you fly here by plane into Bill & Hilary Clinton National Airport). Hot Springs has it’s own airport as well.
My first thought was what does this small, little city have to offer an East Coast kid like me? Boy, was Hot Springs a baby hidden gem! The city is so historic and had some wacky cool activities (The Maxwell Blade Show & The Gangster Museum to name a few), cool restaurants and snap worthy street art murals. Also, I won big at the casino! Well, basically I put twenty dollars into a slot machine, came out with $260 and immediately left. Lol.
What makes Hot Springs so historic though is it being known for Bathhouse Row, a strip of eight GORGEOUS bathhouses, dating from 1892-1923. Did you know this area along with the Grand Promenade was designated as a National Historic Landmark as of 1987? National Parks intrigue me so much.
The eight standing are:
Lamar Bathhouse: Home to the Bathhouse Emporium. Offers marbled bathtubs.
2. Buckstaff Bathhouse: Built in 1912 and this particular bathhouse is the ONLY bathhouse that operates continuously for a century. They do not take appointments and there are long lines on weekends so I say get in line early!
3. Ozark Bathhouse: The sculpted mythical creature holds urns of water. Known to have healing water.
4. Quapaw Bathhouse: Beautiful dome on top with an American Indian motif. It was also my favorite bathhouse by design, hence this blog’s post cover photo. ;)
5. Fordyce Bathhouse: Holds as the park visitor center with some amazing art and artifacts. Most of the rooms have been restored to its original state.
6. Maurice Bathhouse: Also, another fav of mine by architectural design. Stained glass skylight and forest green windows were so beautiful. Is not open to the public.
7. Hale Bathhouse: The oldest surviving bathhouse built in 1892. Has a sauna in the thermal cave carved from the mountain side that I didn’t get to experience, but I will next time!
8. Superior Bathhouse and Brewery: This is the smallest bathhouse turned now brewery. It is the ONLY brewery in the world that utilizes thermal water for their beer!
Old Gymnasium in one of the bathhouses that caught my eye.
Definitely recommend you stop by Superior’s brewery for a brew, get in for a Swedish massage at Buckstaff Bath, get fancy & order the Japanese Wagyu at The Vault!
I found out you can take Amtrak to the city from Little Rock so I’ll definitely be vlogging that kind of experience again soon. Catch me on a train near you.
Be well Sandiego Tribe!
- Amber (amber.sandiego)
