Clean and comfortable - natural beauty sitting just around the bend and over the next hill and…read moreunder the placid water of Lake Catherine! It's fun and easy to reach/enjoy with family friendly opportunities for hiking, fishing, boating, swimming, grilling, camping (cabins available too) - very close to Hot Springs which has a lot of beauty from the National Park in downtown to the lookout tower atop the highest point in downtown - including the natural hot springs which makes this place famous for America's first off season professional baseball camps and the likes of gangsters and movie stars all mingled alongside the everyday persons enjoying the same or hanging out at the horse races. It's a cool place to visit and you'll have a super time at the park - with other states parks and lakes and rivers/hiking and nature all around!

Lake Catherine-- We absolutely love this lake!…read more Although, I felt like things were not labeled as they should have been during the hike of "Falls Creek Falls". There were marks on trees during the hike that were red, white and yellow, but I had no idea what those meant. Maybe this part of town is less touristy and more locals, because people had set up hammocks, and all of their things that they needed for the night/day around the waterfall after the hike. I spoke to a sweet man and woman on a golf cart who seemed to work there, as they were going around and changing papers for the reservations for there were trailers in the parking lot, and they advised us on where to go and park. They did advise us that if you go on the trails, if you go towards the left, the hike is shorter and it's about a 1/2 a mile, and if you go towards the right, it's about a mile and a 1/2 Which is a great tip because, of course, we wanted to take the shorter route. We had a toddler and an elderly person with us, and so we did not want to do a strenuous hike. This hike was just enough for us to feel better adventurous, and like we accomplished something when we got to the falls. The falls were beautiful, and the water looked gorgeous. Although, I did see later on another app, that a lot of times sewer water gets into the falls. Unfortunately, we had decided to take a dip even though we didn't have swim suits just because it looks so refreshing but it's just something to keep in mind. Overall, we would definitely come here again! It looks like a great place to bring lunch and hang out and eat after a great hike!

Pinnacle Mountain State Park is a nice place to to spend your day doing hiking and it's only about…read more20 minutes from downtown Little Rock. I spent a few hours hiking on one of the more difficult hiking trails and it was a great experience! The trail was clean and well labeled, but the only difficult part was locating the same trail markers going down the mountain, especially since there are so many rocks and boulders throughout the entire terrain so it was very easy to miss several trail markers on the way down. I love that the state park offers a variety of trails and difficulty levels, so whether you are a beginner hiker or a more experienced hiker, you are bound to have a good time. I enjoyed the trail and the experience of doing some rock climbing, and if I'm ever in the area again I will definitely come back!

1. The new visitors center is STUNNING and has beautifully clean bathrooms, as well as concessions…read morethat might be open occasionally? Love the free AR state park "passports" you can get as well - so many high-quality details!! 2. This was a challenging but well-marked hiking path. For context, we were told there is a "hard" side or an "extra hard" side to hike LOL. We chose the "hard" side. You do need some moderate physical fitness - a good portion of the "trail" was just spray-painted yellow marks on large rocks and boulders you have to climb. But we did it all in under 2 hours? Great views from the top, and there is a wonderful playground in the middle of the parking lot too! What a unique and fun experience. Honorable mention: we saw a raccoon in a Christmas sweater.

We heard that this place was a "must see" so I had really high expectations; especially when…read morecompared to mount Nebo. My first impression was "where do you park?!" Lots of people come here, and the main parking lot is always packed near the visitor center and restaurant. Sure there's lots of parking near the hiking trails, but up front not so much. This place reminds me of Top of the Rock in Branson. There isn't much in the way of activates here. I wish I was told more about this place. It seems Petit Jean is more centered around hiking and mountain biking. Lots of trails for both, and then a restaurant on a bluff that hikers, motorcyclists, and tourists seem to flock to. If you don't really hike, or bicycle, and don't really care about eating at a restaurant that looks over a bluff then save yourself a trip. I mean if I was an avid hiker I might really like this place, but since I'm not there's other places around just as beautiful without the drive.

A few friends ( 8 trailers with 16 people and 5 dogs) came to camp for a few days and although the…read moreweather wasn't as good as we had hoped for, rain for 1 1/2 days, temps dropped to the mid 40's during the day and 18+ mph winds, it was a great trip. We all, at different times, explored the surroundings, walked trails, and some enjoyed dinner and/or breakfast at nearby restaurants. Us Texans sure did enjoy Arkansas and its fall beauty.

The wilder, more spacious segment of HSNP. These are some long, windy, and wooded trails that you…read morecan explore here. If you're not into the mountain top observatory, this is probably the best overlook in town. Be sure to use pano mode on your phone.

My kids, our dog, and I walked the entire Grand Promenade in downtown Hot Springs, AR, back on July…read more20, 2025. Since that was a Sunday, metered street parking was free. We made sure to head there as early as possible which was about 8:30 AM. Hardly anyone was out there. The sidewalks and streets weren't yet hot on our dog's feet. We dipped our hands in the terribly hot waterfall and small ponds near Central Ave and Fountain Street. We walked up the stairs somewhere nearby. It might be hard on elderly dogs. But my elderly dog acts like a 9-year-old puppy. Lol. At the top of the Promenade, there was a nice red-bricked pathway inspired by Cuba, I later read. There were several trees, benches, tables, and a few chess boards. Not a trash can in sight, though! I guess that's why I picked up so much damn trash! There is a free water refill station on Reserve Street. It's just down the stairs from the Promenade. We finally saw a trash can there. It was so peaceful up there during the half hour we spent reading signage and exploring the seeping springs while the crowd below built up quickly. Free activity. Recommend.

Upon a recent visit to hot springs this was a free thing to do. Its located right off main street…read moreand it curves around the national park. You can views of the back of the bath houses below and you get views of the park up above. This is a popular touristy area and there are lots of people here but it never got crowded. There are plenty of benches here to sit and relax. On a recent walk here I spotted a deer and it was awesome! Keep in mind there are no bathrooms here, there are several staircases that you can use to get up here. As you are walking and notice these green "bear type" boxes, those are actually natural springs coming from the ground that are covered. On one end of the promenade is fountain street where the is a free public cold spring you can refill your water bottle. Very beautiful and the whole thing does not take more than 30 minutes.

On top of Hot Sprigs Mountain this 216ft tower hs spectacular views of the surrounding mountains…read morecovered with dogwood, hickory, oak & pine. We winded up a single lane road passing Picnic areas and rest stops before we got to the top. There was a small parking lot with magnificent views. We walked to the gift shop & found the register. We have a parks pass & paid $12 pp to take the elevator to the top of the tower. We took in the view on the top and then went down a floor to see the history of Hot Springs starting in 1875. Photos and artifacts from the old hotels and bath houses were presented with a timeline.

My crew wasn't allowed up to the top of the Hot Springs Mountain Tower because we had our…read morenon-service dog with us. This place was still cool to check out. It was too damn hot for 3 out of 4 of us to hike up the mountain, so I drove up. Parking was free, but a bit crowded on July 20, 2025. If you don't find a spot, there is a loop to drive back around. Historical info of the tower is out front. TIP Shout out to Greg J. who on 7.9.2024 pointed out that going back down the mountain on the one-way road, folks will pass the Happy Hollow cold spring fountain. It's a free refill of any jug or bottle!

It was a beautiful morning, perfect for exploring trails along the state park. We drove :30, 2…read moremiles out of Hot Springs. We started in the visitor center with Wi-Fi, maps, and a small gift shop. We followed the trails down to the marina. We passed campsite's & pullouts. Kayaks, paddle boats, pontoon boats are all available. There was a small beach with two people sitting on chairs.

We drove through part of Lake Ouachita State Park in late July 2025…read more Entrance was free. The lake looked clean everywhere we went. I was impressed. Many boaters, some swimmers (with designated areas and beaches even), some fishermen, and hikers scattered this area of Arkansas just outside of Hot Springs. It was fairly hot when we went, but still good fun and beautiful scenery. If time had permitted, I would have liked to take my daughters to Three Sisters Springs and other places. We instead stayed at Echo Canyon which is not technically part of the state park, but exists on Lake Ouachita.

This was awesome! Very friendly people along the walk, ride. We even saw deers at the time we went…read morealong the walking past in the forest area. Hefty hill going up but you can do it! The views are epic! I wish I got more pictures!

Little Rock did a great job with this public space, it's a beautiful outdoor area that's super…read morewalkable and very accessible, for pedestrians and cyclists alike. The fact that it's a dam and a bridge is cool, I guess? But what's great about this space is its value as a park, really worth a visit on a nice day!

I recently visited Hot Springs, Arkansas national Park and me and my family spent several hours…read morethere. We're walking in and out of the bath houses and looking around the area even took some time to ask the gentleman who works for the national parks inside of the main building. Where is some things that we could see around the area? He of course, handed me a map and he said well the best thing we got is right outside the door. There's a fountain outside. For me I was hoping there would be more to that national park than just a few bath houses and a few fountains with hot water now I understand that that is amazing but it definitely under performs as a national park. We did take time to walk around the trails. We did take time to see the other areas, but there's really not much here other than a few hot water springs and some trails to walk on. Now don't let this take away from Hot Springs the city. It is a great city a lot of vibrant shopping in restaurants along Hot Springs. If you're going just to go shopping then you won't be disappointed. There was a lot to do as far as that but from the national Park perspective it was a letdown.

I'm probably going to catch some flak for this because it's not 5 stars, but this was my…read moreexperience... Hot Springs National Park was truly unique. At first I admit I was underwhelmed actually. Then we explored several key features: + Hot Springs Mountain Tower (we drove & didn't go up to the top because we had our dog with us) + Bathhouse Row (viewed everything from outside) + Grand Promenade (dog-friendly path & park area) + Fordyce Bathhouse Visitors Center (dogs not allowed, we found a dog boarder and came back to explore it) The old cranky park ranger that we spoke to inside the Fordyce Center was not friendly at all on 7.21.2025. He was very dismissive and not willing to share any insight beyond the two questions I asked him. Not welcoming. Between my picking up trash scattered throughout the Grand Promenade and his attitude, that's primarily the reason for a star knocked off. It's not operated by the National Park Service, but the Buckstaff Bathhouse is regulated by the NPS. My daughters, ages 12 and 10, really enjoyed a mini spa day there. We bought passes at about 9:30 AM and had no wait. We were out by 11:00 AM. Yes, I recommend you experience this old-fashioned body treatment at least once. There are several wonderful shops and some restaurants within walking distance. On Sunday, metered street parking was free. On Monday, I paid for all-day parking (just a little over $8) in the Exchange Street Parking Plaza garage on Exchange Street. All three of us are highly active, so this was an easy walk for us even in the late July 2025 heat. TIPS + Residents really do fill up every plastic jug they can find at the water fountains. Lol. It's free! There were two cold water springs that I heard about: one at Whittington Park and the other at Happy Hollow. But plenty of folks stopped in front of the NPS Administrative building on Reserve Street. + Don't forget to get your national park passport cancellation stamp inside the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitors Center. It was to the right of the front office when we visited.

The Old Mill is a beautiful spot in North Little Rock, AR amongst a charming neighborhood…read more It's listed as a National Register of Historic Places. Rightly so... the mill is supposedly the "last standing structure" from the movie "Gone With The Wind." The gates opened at 8 AM. Entry was free. By the time we got there, a small group was already taking professional-like photos of their model. The landscaping was nicely manicured. Some of the plants and flowers or trees were labeled with little signs. My girls liked climbing up into the replica "water-powered grist mill." We didn't stay long as dogs were not allowed on the grounds. Our dog stayed in my Jeep while the air-conditioning was on since it was in the upper 80s already. For more info plus an interactive map, go to: https://nlr.ar.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/parks/old-mill/

It's very relaxing and beautiful there and it just takes you back to bygone era, and it's pretty…read moreneat it was in Gone With the Wind.