Things to do in Hot Springs
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Hot Springs
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best overall window. Garvan tulips and azaleas, waterfalls running, racing at full pitch and mild hiking weather.
Lake season and daily Magic Springs, with serious heat and humidity and afternoon storms.
The connoisseur season. Warm lakes into September, fall colour, the documentary film festival and Gudrun MTB Festival.
Quietest and cheapest outside race weekends. Garvan Holiday Lights, Oaklawn opens and the baths feel best.
Worst window on event free weekdays in late July and August, with peak heat and the emptiest calendar.
What's on
- Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Spring, April 10 in the 2026-27 schedule
The 1.5 million dollar Grade 1 Kentucky Derby prep and the city biggest race day.
- World's Shortest St. Patrick's Day Parade 17 March
A full parade on 98 foot Bridge Street drawing more than 30,000 spectators.
- Valley of the Vapors Independent Music Festival Spring, dates vary by year
A small all ages indie festival by Low Key Arts, with camping at Cedar Glades in recent fall editions.
- Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival October
One of North America oldest documentary festivals, hosted around the Arlington Hotel.
- Gudrun Mountain Bike Festival November
The annual Northwoods Trails mountain bike festival, minutes from downtown.
- Garvan Woodland Gardens Holiday Lights Late November to December
A major holiday lights display through the woodland gardens on Lake Hamilton.
- Oaklawn Racing Season Traditionally January to May, late November to 1 May in 2026-27
The city social peak, building from the Smarty Jones and Southwest to the Rebel, Fantasy and Arkansas Derby.
Best things to do in Hot Springs
Hot Springs National Park
Eight historic bathhouses line Central Avenue in a free national park, with thermal fountains and a shaded promenade.
Buckstaff Bathhouse
The traditional soak since 1912, with a private thermal tub, steam cabinet and massage in the old sequence.
Quapaw Baths & Spa
Four communal thermal pools at different temperatures under a domed bathhouse, built for long social soaks.
Fordyce Bathhouse
The grandest bathhouse is now a free museum and visitor centre, preserved from marble halls to the basement spring.
Garvan Woodland Gardens
A 210 acre woodland garden on Lake Hamilton, with waterfalls, a treehouse and the soaring glass Anthony Chapel.
Hot Springs Mountain Tower
A 216 foot tower above Bathhouse Row with 360 degree views over the Ouachitas and the Diamond Lakes.
The Gangster Museum of America
A guided tour through seven galleries on the gambling and gangster era that made Hot Springs a mob hideout.
Magic Springs
Arkansas only theme and water park in one ticket, with wooden coasters, slides and a lazy river for families.
Where to stay in Hot Springs
Bathhouse Row / Downtown Central Avenue
first trip, couples, walkability
Walk to the bathhouses, the Fordyce, the brewery and most restaurants, and park the car once.
Lake Hamilton
lake trips, honeymoons, second visits
Quiet, water facing and car dependent, best when boat days and Garvan Gardens are the trip.
Gulpha Gorge
budget and outdoors stays
Camp inside the national park by the creek, two miles from Bathhouse Row, at the Goat Rock trailhead.
Think twice about
- Far East Grand Avenue motel strip
Run down, poorly rated budget motels on an isolated, unwalkable strip. A car is needed for everything.
- Far Albert Pike Road motel stretches
The city worst rated lodging clusters here, with nothing to eat or do within walking distance.
Best restaurants in Hot Springs
Via Roma Italian Restaurant
Sicilian rooted Italian fine dining, the city consensus special occasion room, with famed lasagna and osso buco.
Vault
An upscale steakhouse inside a 1909 bank vault, known for lamb, rich steak toppers and bourbon bread pudding.
The Avenue
Modern Southern dining on Bathhouse Row at The Waters Hotel, with a famed breakfast and a rooftop above.
DeLuca's Pizza
Neapolitan brick oven pies from limited daily dough, the pizza locals recommend first in Hot Springs.
Superior Bathhouse Brewery
The only brewery in a US national park, pouring 18 thermal water taps in a former bathhouse on the Row.
Rolando's Restaurante
Nuevo Latino cooking with flaming queso and a mountainside patio reviewers call the best in town.
Steinhaus Keller
A German biergarten in a grotto, with giant pretzels, schnitzel, onion pie and live music downtown.
McClard's Bar-B-Q
An Arkansas barbecue institution since 1928, famous for huge ribs and the tamale spread.
Outdoor things to do in Hot Springs
Lake Ouachita
A vast, clear, forest ringed lake with islands for kayaking, swimming, fishing and primitive island camping.
Lake Hamilton
The social lake ten minutes from downtown, made for pontoon rentals, swim stops and lakefront parks.
Lake Catherine State Park
A quiet state park lake with the Falls Branch Trail to a waterfall and swimming hole, plus fishing and cabins.
Northwoods Trails
Over 31 miles of rated singletrack five minutes from downtown, from family trails to expert jump lines.
Goat Rock Trail
A shaded climb from Gulpha Gorge to a quartz outcrop overlook, starting minutes above Bathhouse Row.
Isabella Golf Course
The flagship 27 hole course in Hot Springs Village, the most scenic and demanding round near Hot Springs.
Balboa Golf Course
A walker friendly 18 hole Village course with wide fairways, a range and a club restaurant on site.
Ron Coleman Mining
Dig public tailings for quartz crystals you keep, with a mine tour and a zip line over the pit.
Best hotels in Hot Springs
The Waters Hot Springs, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
A restored 1913 boutique hotel across from Bathhouse Row, with modern rooms and the city only rooftop bar.
Hotel Hale
Nine suites inside a former bathhouse on the Row, each with its own tub filled with thermal mineral water.
The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa
The grand 1924 resort at the head of the Row, magnificent in its lobby and bar, inconsistent in its rooms.
Lookout Point Lakeside Inn
A top rated lakeside inn with balconies, gourmet breakfast, gardens and free canoes on a quiet cove.
The Hotel Hot Springs
The large convention centre hotel, a reliable mid tier base with parking, dining and room for groups.
Gulpha Gorge Campground
The national park campground by the creek, 40 reservable sites at the trailhead for Goat Rock.
Is Hot Springs expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $85 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $165 a person |
| Splurge | $340 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Quapaw Baths & Spa: a few days ahead
- Garvan Woodland Gardens: a few days ahead
- Magic Springs: a few days ahead
- Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort: weeks ahead
- Lake Hamilton: a few days ahead
- Isabella Golf Course: weeks ahead
- Balboa Golf Course: a few days ahead
- Via Roma Italian Restaurant: weeks ahead
- Hotel Hale has nine suites and Lookout Point books out for race, Derby, fall and Holiday Lights weekends.
- Book Oaklawn race day dining, Astral Spa appointments and city hotel rooms weeks ahead for Rebel and Arkansas Derby weekends.
- Quapaw pools and Buckstaff baths are walk in only, so go on weekday mornings or before 10am on weekends.
- Reserve DeLuca's Pizza because dough is limited daily, and book Via Roma and Vault for weekends.
- Lake Hamilton boat rentals sell out on summer Saturdays. Gulpha Gorge Campground is reservation only up to six months ahead.
Is Hot Springs safe?
- Thermal water at the open displays is about 143 degrees at the source. Touch cautiously and supervise children.
- Carry water on every trail from June to September and never climb into a spring outside the bathhouses.
- Use life jackets on the lakes. Lake Hamilton boat traffic is heavy and alcohol fuelled on holiday weekends.
- Set a gambling limit before entering Oaklawn. Emergency number is 911.
Hot Springs travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Paying full Arlington rates for an unrenovated room. Enjoy the lobby and bar, and price the room risk honestly.
- Visiting Hot Springs Mountain Tower in summer haze, when the paid view disappears.
- Magic Springs add on costs for parking, lockers and tubes surprise visitors who only budget the gate price.
- There is no outdoor soaking in the thermal springs. Soaking is only inside Buckstaff and Quapaw.
Getting around Hot Springs: public transport and more
- Downtown and Bathhouse Row are walkable end to end. Use the Exchange Street Parking Garage at 128 Exchange Street.
- A car is needed for the lakes, Garvan Gardens, Northwoods, Hot Springs Village golf and Ron Coleman Mining.
- Little Rock airport is about 55 miles away, roughly 60 to 75 minutes by car.
- Schedule hikes and drives early from June to September because of heat, humidity and afternoon storms.
Who Hot Springs suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Hot Springs your trip
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