Hot Springs is the only city in America with a national park running through its downtown. Hot Springs National Park — not a wilderness preserve but an urban thermal spring system — protects 47 hot springs that produce nearly one million gallons of 143°F water daily from the western slope of Hot Springs Mountain, flowing beneath Bathhouse Row's eight grand bathhouses on Central Avenue. The park was established in 1832, making it the oldest federally protected land in the country, predating Yellowstone by 40 years. The city that grew up around these springs attracted railroad barons, gangsters, presidents, and baseball teams conducting spring training in equal measure, producing one of the most improbable and entertaining small cities in the American South.
Hot Springs sits in the Ouachita Mountains of central Arkansas, 55 miles southwest of Little Rock, with a population of around 38,000. It was the boyhood home of Bill Clinton — he grew up here, went to high school here, and has called McClard's Bar-B-Q one of his favorite restaurants, famously having its barbecue flown to him in the White House while he was president. The city draws approximately 3.5 million visitors annually, a remarkable figure for its size, built on thermal bath tourism, Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort's thoroughbred racing, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, and a food scene that has been quietly developing into something worth making the drive for.
Bathhouse Row, Garvan Gardens & The Gangster Museum
Bathhouse Row's eight grand bathhouses — built between 1892 and 1923 in a variety of architectural styles from Spanish Renaissance to Italianate — line the east side of Central Avenue in a display of thermal spring opulence that is unique in America. The Buckstaff Bathhouse (the only one still offering traditional thermal baths in the original format) and the Quapaw Baths & Spa (a renovated modern spa experience) are both open for soaking. The Fordyce Bathhouse serves as the national park visitor center, with its original stained glass, fountains, and gymnasium intact — a free and genuinely stunning interior. The Ohio Club — the oldest bar in the state of Arkansas — sits just off Bathhouse Row and has been pouring drinks since 1905.
Garvan Woodland Gardens, on the shore of Lake Hamilton, is one of the finest botanical gardens in the South — 210 acres of Ouachita Mountain landscape with pavilions designed by Fay Jones (a student of Frank Lloyd Wright), extraordinary spring blooms, and a Christmas lights display that draws visitors from across the region. The Gangster Museum of America documents Hot Springs's extraordinarily colorful criminal history — Al Capone had a suite at the Arlington Hotel, and the city operated as a wide-open gambling resort with tacit federal protection for decades. It is a genuinely entertaining museum.
"Hot Springs is the only city in America where a national park runs through the middle of downtown — eight Victorian bathhouses on a street where Capone vacationed, Clinton grew up, and the thermal springs have been flowing at 143°F since before the Civil War."
Presidential BBQ, Thermal Brewery & Lake Hamilton's Table
Hot Springs's food scene is anchored by its BBQ heritage and has grown into something significantly more varied. McClard's Bar-B-Q, established in 1928, has been smoking meats the old-fashioned way in a traditional pit for nearly a century — the menu is straightforward and deeply Southern, with tender ribs, pulled pork, scratch-made coleslaw, pinto beans, and hot tamales, and their famous "spread" combines barbecue and tamales on a single plate. The thermal water brewery scene — taking advantage of the park's naturally mineral-rich water — adds a distinctly Hot Springs dimension to the craft beer landscape.
The most famous restaurant in Arkansas — Bill Clinton's childhood favorite, whose BBQ was flown to the White House during his presidency. The ribs, pulled pork, and tamale-BBQ spread have been coming off the same pit since 1928. Order the spread. Take a bottle of the sauce home. Non-negotiable.
$ · BudgetLocated in a meticulously restored 1909 bank, VAULT offers a unique dining experience blending history with contemporary elegance — modern American cuisine with a rotating menu highlighting seasonal ingredients and bold flavors, with a private dining space in the original bank vault. Hot Springs's most distinctive fine dining setting.
$$$ · UpscaleOn the shores of Lake Hamilton, Luna Bella is an intimate upscale Italian-American restaurant with a devoted following — Executive Chef Ryan Dubasek's menu includes classic dishes like fried calamari with lemon butter sauce, veal osso bucco, and shrimp risotto prepared with careful attention to technique. The lakeside setting is the finest in the city.
$$$ · UpscaleOpen since 1952 and featured on the Travel Channel's BBQ Crawl, Stubby's smokes its meats daily over a hickory wood-fire pit. The smoke-forward challenger to McClard's throne — the hickory-smoked ribs and pulled pork are exceptional and the atmosphere is pure Arkansas roadhouse. A worthy second stop on any Hot Springs BBQ tour.
$ · BudgetThe Arlington Hotel, Lakeside Resorts & The Park's Historic Properties
Hot Springs's lodging reflects its resort heritage. The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa — the grande dame of Bathhouse Row, open since 1875 and still hosting guests in its Spanish Colonial Revival building — runs $130–$220/night and is the most atmospheric stay in the city. The Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort, adjacent to the famous racetrack, offers full resort amenities at $150–$280/night. Lake Hamilton's waterfront properties and vacation rentals provide excellent access to the lake's boating and dining at $100–$200/night. The Basin Park Hotel in the historic Eureka Springs (an hour north) offers the region's most distinctive Victorian boutique stay for multi-night visitors exploring the Ouachitas.
- The Buckstaff Bathhouse (the only traditional thermal bath on Bathhouse Row) does not take reservations — arrive when they open. The experience is genuinely unlike any spa in America and costs around $40 for a full thermal bath treatment.
- The Fordyce Bathhouse visitor center is free and one of the most beautiful interiors in Arkansas — the stained glass, the original equipment, and the restored gymnasium are extraordinary. Allow 45 minutes.
- McClard's closes on Sundays and Mondays and runs out of popular items by mid-afternoon. Arrive at lunch on a weekday for the best selection.
- Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort's thoroughbred racing season runs late January through mid-April — the most energetic time to visit, with the Arkansas Derby drawing significant crowds in April.
- The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (October) is one of the South's finest film festivals, drawing filmmakers and cinephiles from across the country. Book accommodation well ahead for October visits.
- The thermal spring water at the free jug fountain on Bathhouse Row is safe to drink — bring a container and fill up. The water is naturally hot, slightly mineral-tasting, and genuinely medicinal by reputation if not necessarily by proof.
- Hot Springs is 55 miles from Little Rock — an easy day trip combination. The Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock is among the finest presidential libraries in the country.
Hot Springs: The Most Surprising Small City in the South
Hot Springs asks you to suspend your expectations of what an American city is supposed to look like — a national park running down the main street, Victorian bathhouses steaming gently in the morning air, a gangster museum around the corner from the thermal springs, and the best BBQ in Arkansas at a restaurant that has been taking ribs off the same pit since Calvin Coolidge was president. The city is compact enough to walk, interesting enough to stay for three days, and distinctive enough that nothing else in the South quite prepares you for it. Bill Clinton had the right idea about the BBQ. He was also right about the city.
Take the waters. Order the spread. ♨️