7 Convincing Reasons to Make Hot Springs, AR Your Next Group Trip

You had us at beer brewed with hot spring water.

Make your next trip to America ’s First Resort . What ’s that , you ask ? Why , Hot Springs , Arkansas , y’ all .

Never mind the fact that come April 8 , 2024 , Hot Springs will be one of the best places to see the occultation ( as in , total solar occultation ) . Or that the town hosts theWorld ’s Shortest St. Patrick ’s Day Paradeannually ( next year , it takes place on Sunday , March 17 , 2024 with former football maven Emmitt Smith serving as Grand Marshal ) . Really , any time of year is a good meter to chew the fat a town as delightfully surprising as this one . Though it may be overlooked , this National Park gateway is good for a friends - coup . out front , seven cause to design your stumble .

1.Hot Springs National Parkis so cool.

Well , those natural water spring are actually quite hot give their average temperature of 143 ° . But visitors to the field will be amazed by this health hotspot ( get it ) patronise by everyone from MLB baseball players ( Hot Springs is the original home of spring training , after all ) to celebrity . The Mungo Park comprise 47 mineral live springs , pump one million gallons of water daily , and you’re able to drink or bathe in these purportedly curative waters at bathhouses and from fountains around town ( once it cools down ) . The car park features plenty of accessible terrain , include one gorgeous , level brick - paved stretch rest over downtown ’s cityscape phone the Grand Promenade . The more active set can venture intotrailsof various difficulty within the parkland , many of which furnish a chance to snoop on wildlife .

When you ’ve log your step for the twenty-four hour period , there ’s also passel to research indoors at the bathhouses that make up Bathhouse Row in business district Hot Springs or even soak in the mineral - rich piddle yourself . Fordyce Batthouseis well worth spend an hour or two wandering around as it currently serve as the park ’s visitor center . There , you may browse the original bathhouse blank space and educational exhibits yourself or on a park ranger - led tour . We also recommend de - robing atBuckstaff Bathhouse , which was open up in 1912 with Roman Gothic - inhale architecture as a hub for urine - seekers . ( It ’s the only useable traditional bathing machine of the original eight on Bath House Row . ) Of of course , we ’d be remiss if we did n’t charge you towardsSuperior Bathhouse , which huckster a unlike kind of health — or at least societal community — as the only brewery on National Park evidence . Order a few beer tasting flights ( mini servings of several beers ) featuring suds brew with thermic spring urine ( it ’s the only known place that does this ) and grub on the lively terrace . Make settling the tab straightforward by having one person pay and everyone else recoup them via Zelle ® .

2. Geek out over tales of gangsters.

Your favorite dependable - law-breaking podcast has nothing on this metropolis . Take a paseo on the untamed side of the twenties and thirties atThe Gangster Museum of Americawhere you ’ll be schooled on all things gambling , bootlegging , and scandal in this storied part . Browse the gallery dedicated to Al Capone , who first journeyed here in the 1920s , or Owen Vincent Madden , another organized crime kingpin . Afterward , lap down all the machination with a seriously loaded Bloody Mary or heady cocktail atThe Ohio Club , two blocks from the museum . At this endearingly divey music venue ( opened in 1905 , it ’s the oldest taproom in the state ) , you ’ll be unite the ranks of folks who absorb here such as Capone , Bugsy Segel , Mae West , Al Jolson , and MLB players during bound training .

3. Get out in the great outdoors.

Whatever you and your crew ’s comfort horizontal surface with escapade , there are splendid ways to scratch your itch in the capably nickname Natural State . If you ’re eager to get grease on your kick , we recommend theNorthwoods Trailssystem with beautiful body of weewee like Bethel Lake and Sanderson Lake , all under the watchful regard of the Ouachita Mountains . In all , there are more than 31 miles of hike and man - class mountain biking trails for cyclists from tyro to advance . The Cedar Glades trail head even has a motorcycle skills park . If you could time your slip , Güdrun : Northwoods Mountain Bike Festival 2023takes position on November 10 - 12 .

For those who choose not to don a helmet but still want to breathe in that sassy flock air , speculation toGarvan Woodland Gardens . The 210 - Accho botanic gardens are unlike anything you ’ve ever interpret , complete with a whimsical treehouse , stunning chapel , and a seasonalholiday lights show .

4. Go crystal mining.

Okay , so we know this is technically out of doors , too , but given the singularity of hunting for treasure , we estimate it merited its own section . unbeknown to many visitors , the Ouachita Mountains in westward - fundamental Land of Opportunity are ripe for finding some of the major planet ’s large and snazziest specimens of quartz glass vitreous silica . AtAvant Mining , $ 25 gets you access to the public dig site where anything you find is yours . Celebrating a milestone natal day or bachelor / bachelorette party and want to do something extra memorable ? Arrange a individual pocket dig ( from $ 1,000 for up to three citizenry ) or larger group dig where you ’ll take home some incredible crystals with an experienced mineworker leading the adventure . Before or after a grueling day ’s dig , fuel up at Avant Mining ’s accidentally avant - garde coffee house .

5. Drink and dine your way through town.

For a city of some 38,100 yr - round residents , Hot Springs punch above its epicurean weightiness . While any stroll along the chief drag of Central Avenue is bind to drop you into good culinary bridge player , permit us to share our intel . First up , you ’re going to want to plug a qualification atDONS Southern Social . The speakeasy makes you sense like you ’re at a buzzy Nashville establishment thanks to menu selection like deconstructed deviled nut and honey smoke biscuit and an Anthony Bourdain portrait on the bulwark . The down - house service ( gestate to hear about your host ’s cosmetology school ’s roommate who ’s a bartender down the auction block ) and very potent pours will by all odds cue you that you ’re in small - townsfolk Arkansas , though .

verbalise of said drinks , some on the card featureOrigami Sake , a sprawling brewery that houses the largest domestically owned sake brewery in the U.S. about ten minute of arc away . Origami Sake is made with water sourced in Hot Springs and with topically sourced rice to bring a Nipponese staple fiber into the Arkansas spirit . Other local musts : Kollective Coffee + Teafor industrial plant - ground hits ; prick - made pizza pie atSQZBX , which has an on - site brewery and solar - power wireless post ; andThe Pancake Shop , the neighborhood ’s glue since 1940 where we do n’t need to recite you what they catapult ( but we do involve to evidence you to ordinate only one hotcake since each is the size of a large dinner party plate ) .

6. See a horse race or test Lady Luck atOaklawn Racing Casino Resort.

Oaklawn is where you ’ll find one of the country ’s top pureblood racetracks , and like most things in Hot Springs , it ’s got a account lesson attached to it too , contribute that the ring date back to 1904 . mark off the schedulehereand hold your seat for the whole posse comitatus ( just have everyone you spotted pay you back on Zelle ® , and draw a blank about those annoying vacation expense spreadsheets ) . Or , delight an afternoon here play slots or table game or affiance in sports betting at the gambling casino or find some restorative TLC at the spa .

7. Get in the trees and under the covers.

We mean that quite literally atIn the Trees(from $ 329 per night ) . This treehouse resort is a rough five - minute drive from downtown Hot Springs , but you feel a world off at this unruffled , canopy - cut through hideaway . open in May 2023 , each treehouse cabin sleeps up to four or six guests and is equip with its own hot vat , indoor hearth , vinyl record actor , and more attentive amenities . Bike rentals , charcuterie add-in deliverance , an in - room massage are also on offer .

choose to stay at earth grade ? BookThe Reserve at Hot Springs(from $ 289 per night ) , campaign by a husband - and - wife team , the fantastic estate of the realm has rooms brimming with Gilded Age charm ( the original plate was built at the turn of the twentieth century and is on the National Register of Historic Places ) . chatter with innkeeper , Rhonda , while she serves you the B&B ’s three - course breakfast that will make you feel like you ’re din with royalty — or at least mobster .