| Route 66 | Cities | Beaches |
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| A visit to Hot Springs is a good chance to learn about "taking the baths," which was important to the Native Americans and still remains popular today. To be sure, there have been other hot spring resorts : French Lick, Indiana; Red Boiling Springs, Tenn.; Palm Springs, Calif; Thermopolis, Wyoming; Glenwood, Colo.; Bonneville, Washington; and the cluster of Montana resorts below Yellowstone Thermal Basin being the most famous. But Hot Springs, Arkansas was the first and has always been the biggest. Once upon a time, the middle class could not afford to visit these places. They were the exclusive domain of the very rich and famous. But today, the rich and famous prefer to "take their baths" at Iceland, Tuscany and the Greek island of Lesbos, which has allowed the prices of American spas to drift downward to affordability. The Quapaw Bathhouse is shown above left. The interior above right is in the Buckstaff. Frequent Hot Springs patrons recommend timing your visit to avoid the horseracing season, especially the week of the Arkansas Derby. The bathhouses become very crowded in the mornings at those times. They are always less crowded on weekdays than weekends. And the least crowded times of each day are the 8:30, 9:00 and 9:30 appointments. |  |
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Everyone assumes that Yellowstone was the first national park in the world, but in truth Hot Springs could claim that honor. As whites moved into Arkansas and learned about the mineral waters, entrepreneurs began buying up land and closing off springs for their own customers. You'll see photographs hanging all over town of those late 1700s and early 1800s, when the valley was lined with commercial establishments. Finally the government stepped in and declared the 47 hot springs a national resource to be maintained for the use of all. It bought up Hot Springs Mountain right down to Central Avenue and declared it Hot Springs National Reservation in 1832, 40 years before Yellowstone. The government then granted long term leases on what is now Bath House Row plus the Arlington Hotel. So as you drive up Central Avenue, on the left are private businesses, but on the right are park licensed operators. The park service maintains The Grand Promenade and several unharnessed springs (left) bubbling and steaming out of the side of Hot Springs Mountain. |
| There is a tremendous amount of human history here. Numerous presidents visited Hot Springs several times a year, most famously Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Deleanor Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and John F. Kennedy. The specially built tub at right was used to give FDR his treatments. They could lay him on the wooden bench and lower him into the steaming bath, then raise him back out and swing the bench away from the tub so attendants could help him into the specially made wheelchair. They would then wheel him into a shower and sauna, also specially made. You'll see photos of FDR hanging in hotel lobbies and restaurants all over Hot Springs because he spent more time here than any other president. He wrote on several occasions that the only real relief he got from his aches and pains was at Hot Springs. However, other presidents are important, too. Thomas Jefferson dispatched a special envoy to check out the springs and report back to him. He planned to come down but never made it. Truman and Eisenhower, being from nearby Missouri and Kansas, had come to Hot Springs numerous times before ever becoming president and continued to do so while in the White House. Teddy Roosevelt came to study how the national "reservation" was administered. And Kennedy came to ease his recurring back troubles. |  |
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The reason Hot Springs and its fellow resorts became so popular in the 1800s was for their perceived medical benefits. Common knowledge held that "taking the baths" cured or at least halted Cancer, Diabetes, Tuberculosis, Asthma, Heart Disease, Arthritis, Rheumatism, Gout, Bursitis, Indigestion, Cramping, Diverticulosis, and any kind of pulls, strains, sprains and other muscle and ligament injuries. By the 1950s, it was known that mineral baths, heat and massage were not therapies for Cancer, Diabetes, Tuberculosis, Indigestion, and Diverticulosis. However, they are proven treatments for the other ailments listed above. People now have their regular doctors and modern drugs, but they still come to Hot Springs several times a year for the real benefits "taking the baths" offers. At left is a Needle Shower, which bombards a person with hot water in many needle thin jets from all sides. At right are shown steam cabinets, where a person sits with only his or her head outside the rest of the body receiving an intense sauna. |  |
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"Taking the baths" is deliciously decadent. You are pampered, handled and surrounded by luxury. At left is the Quapaw Bathhouse. The massage therapists are professionally trained and certified. This is a legitimate medical subspecialty, like a sports trainer. A full treatment takes about 90 minutes and leaves the recipient feeling tremendously refreshed, renewed and invigorated. There is also a strong cumulative effect : taking one treatment every day for a week is noticeably better than taking just one treatment. Frequent Hot Springs visitors have their favorite bathhouses and masseurs, but it's mostly a matter of taste, since all the staff are trained and experienced and while the facilities are different, each has its advantages. If you visit Hot Springs several times, we highly recommend you try a different facility each time. The Arlington Hotel Bath is very convenient since you can go straight back to your room. The Buckstaff opened in 1912 and is probably the most luxurious. The Quapaw (1922) was recently renovated. Their prices are within a few dollars of each other; a "full treatment" costs about $50. It's well worth it. |
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