hot take on hot springs
weekend at the waters
One of our main travel goals with our girls is to see all of the U.S. National Parks. So during fall break last year, we took a weekend and visited the closest one to us: Hot Springs National Park. This park is unique as it is located in the heart of downtown Hot Springs and features Bathhouse Row, eight old bathhouse buildings. Two of the bathhouses, Buckstaff and Quapaw, still offer a dip in their water!
Hot Springs is a little over 5 hours from us, so we hit the open road. We made it a point to stop at the famous Southern Belle restaurant in Heavener. Both sets of grandparents had eaten there and highly recommended it. The restaurant is inside an old rail car and is known for its fried chicken. It’s not every day you get to eat in a train car, so it was a fun experience for the girls. And how fun is the exterior of this bar(?) pictured below at the Oklahoma / Arkansas border. It has an entry for the Arkansas and Oklahoma side.
In Hot Springs, we stayed at the aptly named The Waters Hotel, which has a rich history itself, as it originally served as doctor’s offices. It is located right across from Bathhouse Row (location, location, location!). It was a beautiful hotel, with a great roof top view, and we could walk to the park in a few minutes. Another great hotel option is Hotel Hale, which used to be the Hale Bathhouse. It was unfortunately booked as we last-minuted our trip, but it looks amazing. Next time.
Our first night into town, we ate at the Superior Bathhouse Brewery, which as you can guess, is located inside the Superior Bathhouse. The location alone made this a must for me. Another can’t miss is the Pancake Shop. Nothing fancy in this old space, but that’s what makes it perfect. People don’t go there for the design, they go for their amazing breakfast options and ginormous pancakes.
After stuffing ourselves at the Pancake Shop, we toured the Fordyce Bathhouse, which offers an intriguing glimpse back into this luxurious time at Bathhouse Row. They don’t make ‘em like they used to! We walked the promenade on our hike up to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower. I could picture the fancy folks from back in the day strolling along the promenade with their umbrellas in tow. I don’t think we realized how much of a hike the hike would be, especially with a toddler in tow, but we made it (and burned off a lot of those breafast calories)! The view from the top is always worth it, but you can also drive to the top.
A quick 15 minute drive from downtown, you can find the Garvan Woodland Gardens. This place features the Anthony Chapel and Evans Treehouse, amongst the beautifully landscaped gardens. It was raining when we got there, but thankfully, cleared right up so we could enjoy our time there. McCall slept thru the chapel experience, but they both loved exploring the treehouse and gardens.
While we were this close by, we decided to take the drive to Crater of Diamonds State Park. It’s a little over an hour away from Hot Springs, but we knew the girls would love to go diggin’ for diamonds. I had no idea how hopping that place would be! I guess everyone wants to find some treasure, arrrr. We didn’t find any gems there, but we had already discovered a gem of a restaurant in Hot Springs that morning: Will’s Cinnamon Shop. Holy Burrito, they have the BEST cinnamon rolls I’ve ever had in my life. This is the place I can’t stop thinking about almost a year later. It’s that good.
For dinner, we had pizza at the Grateful Head Pizza Oven. I loved the setting, built into the hill. And the food was delicious! After dinner, we strolled along Central Ave and completely unintentionally (kidding) ended up at Fat Bottomed Girls Cupcake Shoppe. This place was as hopping as the diamond park! It’s clearly the go to place for cupcakes and treats in Hot Springs and I can confirm it’s for good reason.
We totally drank the kool-aid (er, water) on Hot Springs. And you should too (literally, they really want you to drink that water). It was a lovely weekend. Were there some hiccups? Of course. But, all in all, it was a great little get away full of memories.
Hot Springs is beautiful, and we’re so glad we came. But it’s always nice to go home to our House on Harper Lane.