Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Beginnings
Hot Springs, Arkansas is a conundrum. One of the smallest National Parks at just under 5,500 acres, it is the largest city encased within a U.S. Park. The area gained National Park status in 1921 but there is debate whether it is the oldest, as President Andrew Jackson declared the area the first federal reservation in 1832. Hot Springs has an abundance of mineral waters, naturally pumping out of the ground throughout town at approximately one million gallons a day, and averaging 143 degrees F. The reservation/park flourished over centuries due to its niche as a spa and restorative healing properties.
The area has always been a spa. From the dawn of time, Native Americans used the “Valley of Vapors” waters. In the mid-1500’s Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto took a long soak.
Shortly after the Civil War, Hot Springs began welcoming thousands of sick and injured visitors needing relief from arthritis, consumption, and stress-related symptoms. Seven opulent bathhouses were built along Hot Springs’s Central Avenue, the last one completed in 1888. The buildings remain today; one, the Fordyce, serves as the National Park headquarters and contains an outstanding museum of a bygone era. The Buckstaff is the only bathhouse still operating as a bathhouse today; the others are hotels, restaurants, and other tourist-related businesses. Superior Brewery, on the ground floor of the former Superior Bathhouse is the only known brewery originating and operating in a National Park. All seven of these ornate buildings are on the National Registry of Historic Places.
With all the sudden wealth came other elements.
During Prohibition and the 1920’s, notable names in crime found their way to Hot Springs for activities other than soaking in a spa. Al Capone was known to rent out entire floors in the Arlington Hotel for his prostitution and gambling enterprises. Capone bought a struggling dairy farm outside the town and turned it into a moonshine factory, moving his distillate about the country on tanker railroad cars. Today, a statue of Capone sits along Central Avenue, handcuffed on a bench, smoking a cigar.
Bugsy Moran, Lucky Luciano, and other known mobsters frequented Hot Springs, making deals, enjoying a massage, and betting on horses at the newly opened Oaklawn Racetrack. Though violent and feared in their respective hometowns, these gangsters were known to be quiet, respectful, and great tippers while visiting Hot Springs. Murders and mayhem were not brought to Spa Town.
The Gangster Museum of America, in downtown Hot Springs is must-see. Here, the infamous are brought back to life through their weapons, vintage gambling paraphernalia, personal effects, and a mesmerizing documentary.
Baseball
Hot Springs has a long, involved history with baseball. The first city to offer spring training to baseball players, from approximately 1886 to the 1940’s Hot Springs saw anyone and everyone. Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Cy Young, Honus Wagner, the Dean brothers (Dizzy and Daffy), Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson and the effervescent Babe Ruth were regulars in town. Ruth made history there by hitting the first ball over five hundred feet, from the Baseball Park into an alligator pond.
The Hot Springs Bathers were just one of several minor league teams housed in the city and the first, in 1954, to sign a Black player, Uvold Reynolds. Fifty percent of the hallowed names at Cooperstown, N.Y. spent spring training in Hot Springs.
In 2012, on the first day of MLB spring training, the city officially opened the Hot Springs Baseball Trail. This unique pathway explains Hot Springs’ role in the sport with twenty-six markers located throughout the city telling the story of the different baseball camps and activities. Smartphone users can access audio narrations at each station.
Other Attractions
The Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo is a self-guided family fun event. Miniature goats, bunnies, emus, and more cute and exotic creatures are waiting for a dose of love and a piece of bread from anyone willing to give it. The number of alligators, housed in a back building, is startling. Multiple large penned-in areas contain dozens of scaly reptiles each; from their large, submerged pools, the ‘gators barely move but the hooded eyes warily give the visitor a thorough look. Guests have an opportunity to hold a baby alligator or feed an adult via a long pole. In business since 1902, the Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo have always been popular with children.
Popular with adults is Oaklawn Casino and Racetrack. Oaklawn, one of the premier racetracks in the country and home to both the Racing Festival of the South and the Arkansas Derby, has a storied history. Several racetracks were in the Hot Springs during the late 1880’s, but by 1920, the others had closed.
Called a “Gentleman’s Resort of the Highest Class” in a 1901 newspaper, Oaklawn has strived to maintain that status. By 1904, the track had heated seats; the more expensive seats were enclosed by glass, the first racetrack in the country to have these luxuries.
Throughout the years, any jockey of notoriety has had a mount at Oaklawn. The same with horses. Notable equines that have crossed the finish lines here, include Whitmore, Zenyatta, Cigar, Nadal, Curlin, Smarty Jones and 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.
The casino is a bright, sparkly place with floors of restaurants, bars, and gaming opportunities. Various corners overlook the track.
Nature lovers will appreciate the peace and quiet on the hiking trails both inside the wooded park and along the Promenade that parallels sections of Central Avenue. The shade is welcome on hot days, the trees are magnificent in spring and fall and the views are expansive on every segment of a trail.
Outside town, Ozark Mountain lakes are full of fish, hiking trails and brilliant sunrises and sunsets.
Hot Springs is a special forward-thinking town with a diverse history that cannot be matched. In this friendly spot, every visitor can find a niche and a particular interest that will become a cherished lifetime memory. With seven full hookup RV parks in the Hot Springs area, ranging from 2.5 to 13 miles out of town, it is easy and convenient to make those memories soon.