Hot Springs National Park

Hot Springs is the oddest national park in the system: it protects an urban row of ornate bathhouses on the main street of a working Arkansas town, along with the springs behind them. The water falls as rain, sinks for thousands of years, is heated at depth and returns at around sixty degrees, and it was set aside for public benefit in 1832, four decades before Yellowstone, which is why the park claims to be the oldest protected area in the country. Bathhouse Row's eight buildings from the early twentieth century range from restored museum to still-operating bathhouse, and two remain in use, one a traditional bath-and-massage house and one a brewery that makes beer with the thermal water. Trails climb the wooded hills behind and a tower gives a view over the Ouachitas.

What you actually see

• Bathhouse Row - eight grand bathhouses along the main street.
• Fordyce Bathhouse - the restored showpiece, now the visitor centre and museum.
• Taking the waters - the two bathhouses still operating, one traditional.
• The thermal fountains - public taps where locals fill jugs with spring water.

When to go

Year-round, since the attraction is indoors and the water does not change; spring and autumn are mildest for the hillside trails. The town is busiest in summer and during the racing season at Oaklawn. Bathhouse appointments should be booked ahead at weekends.

Honest expectations

Visitors expecting wilderness are always surprised: this is a town centre with a national park designation, and the natural springs themselves are almost entirely capped and piped rather than visible. The hillside trails are pleasant but modest. The town beyond Bathhouse Row is a mixture of restored and run-down.

Nearby

Lake Ouachita is west; Little Rock is an hour northeast.