Hot Springs, AR
En route from Tennessee to Texas there are not very many National Parks options, but one of them is Hot Springs National Park. While it is it not what you typically imagine as a park, it is quite interesting and includes the entire town.
We stayed at the awesome little Alpine Inn, based on reviews, and apparently it is now temporarily closed for renovations, to be re-opened as the Gold Inn. Either way, it is awesome. We stayed there two weeks after the new owners took over, and enjoyed speaking with them, and it is a nice short walk from the heart of town.
While in town, we did two separate hikes that I highly recommend:
Balance Rock (Note: park at the trailhead)
Gulpha Gorge (Note: park at the campground)
It was nice to get out and really stretch our legs after the long days in the car. The weather was gorgeous, the air fresh, and the views beautiful!
For our evening, we enjoyed a casual walking tour around the town looking at the original hot spring bath houses, and I am sure that you will be shocked to hear that we enjoyed sampling a few of the breweries as well. The buildings are absolutely beautiful!
Our evening ended at the Craft Beer Cellar being served by the owner, and we enjoyed the place to ourselves with it being a week night. Adam thoroughly LOVED sampling the wide-range of beers on tap, and talking shop….still trying to catch up on his Middle East glut. Not only do they have an incredible selection on tap, they have a massive collection for sale from which we walked away with an impressive array.
The next day was cloudy, cool, and rainy, so we did take the time to enjoy half of a day at the Quapaw Baths and Spa. While I would not have made a special trip to experience this town, I would recommend making it a long-weekend trip should you ever find yourself in, or passing through, Arkansas.
