Fun urban walk with historical businesses and there is enough nature to walk and see from above I…read more The tower as well

As part of our quest to visit all 63 U.S. national parks, we set off on a six-week road trip. I…read morehave a personal rule: I only count a national park as "visited" if I actually spend time there, hike or walk through it, and experience it beyond simply driving by. Hot Springs National Park was one of the most unique parks on our journey because it is unlike any other national park we have visited. Rather than protecting vast wilderness, this park preserves the history and natural thermal springs that gave birth to the city of Hot Springs. For centuries, people believed the mineral-rich waters had healing properties, and during the late 1800s and early 1900s, the area became one of America's premier spa destinations. The beautifully preserved Bathhouse Row is a reminder of that era, with historic buildings that still define the character of the park today. The park itself blends seamlessly into the city, making it feel less like a traditional national park and more like a living historic district. Personally, I see it as being closer to a national monument than the expansive wilderness parks most people picture when they think of the National Park System. But that doesn't diminish its value, it is simply a very different experience. I spent quite a bit of time hiking the surrounding trails, which were peaceful, scenic, and offered beautiful views over the town and the Ouachita Mountains. It was a pleasant surprise to discover how much nature surrounds the historic district once you begin climbing into the hills. The town itself is charming, full of history, unique architecture, good restaurants, and an easy pace that invites you to slow down. Between exploring the bathhouses, learning about the fascinating history of hydrotherapy in America, and enjoying the trails, we found there was plenty to fill a full day. Overall, Hot Springs National Park is beautiful in its own way. It may not offer towering mountains or dramatic wilderness, but it preserves an important chapter of American history while still providing opportunities to enjoy nature. It is certainly worth visiting with an open mind and an appreciation for both history and the outdoors.

We had a beautiful day to float the Caddo, with two kayaks and two canoes in our party yesterday…read more One canoe had novice paddlers for the 3+ hour float back to the vehicles. Our bus and some of the equipment (paddles, canoe) were a bit banged up or well used. It was a lot of fun, more class 1 or maybe class 2 than expected by the novices. But fun fun fun. We plan to do it again!

I wanted to be sure to come back and write a review as I couldn't find many newer reviews prior to…read moregoing. I'll start out by saying that the owners were great!!! We originally booked a camp side with electric and water for 2 days and would float on our last full day. We decided to extend our campsite and change our float to the next day AND swap to kayaks Instead of tubes. When we went to the office to make the changes and they were more than happy to help us as if it were no big deal! I also watched the owner down by the river everyday we were there just greeting people and chatting and helping in any way possible. I'm pretty sure I saw him pulling someone's car that had broke down. Just a testament to how helpful they are. The Campsite- my wife and I got site L for 3 days. The owner had just finished mowing the grass as we pulled up and it was very clean and level. I had read one old review that said the electric pole was a hundred feet away or something so I showed up with 5 extension cords. lol to my surprise, the electric pole was right at the side and 10 feet away from our tent! But I was ready. The water spigot was also right behind that so it was all very close. There was a nice fire ring and a camp style grill and the picnic table was in great shape. No one was in the site to our right but there were some folks in the site to our left but there was just enough space that it was no bother. The bathrooms were just a short walk up the hill. There was one men's and one women's restroom that stayed clean the whole time we were there and there were two showers, each in its own individual room. All 4 doors had pin pad knobs so they stayed locked and you needed a code to get in, they didn't give us any issues. The showers were push knobs so you have to hold them to keep water flowing but the temps were good. A little warm for my tastes but my wife loved it. The River- we decided on the kayaks instead of the tubes as we have tubes the river a few times and wanted to check out a little more. Since we were camping at the shuttle site, we just had to jump on a van once we were ready and they took us on a ten minute ride to the river. The driver was very knowledgeable and gave us some good tips. We ultimately floated for about 4 hrs to get back. The river was around 5.3 river level gauge so we did have a few spots where I had to get out but my wife slid right over. Guess I should lose a few pounds hahaha. It's definitely an easy paddle and kid friendly. There were a few spots with some faster moving water but nothing to be alarmed about. All in all it was a great experience. I will say, if you are looking for a quiet, in the woods campsite, this isn't it. It is close to the road so you hear every truck going down the road and those boys in Central Arkansas love their glasspack mufflers! lol but if you are looking for somewhere to camp after floating the river, this place is perfect! You don't have to drive to a shuttle area and then when you get done, you are back at camp. Caddy River Camping & Canoe, you guys are doing a great job!!

So there is only one review thus far and I don't believe they give the credit this place deserves…read more It is breathtaking. The motel sits right off the lake with a beautiful scenery. There is a park, basketball & volleyball court. Mind you when we went a majority of these activities were under water but that didn't stop us from loving this place. The room is perfect. We had four in our group and we were comfortable. The kitchen was well stocked with the utensils needed with a full stove and refrigerator. Made it nice to save money by cooking meals rather than buying them. Each day we had clean towels which was nice. The only downfall was the comfort of the beds. I need an ultra soft bed and these were ultra firm. But nothing to knock a star down on the review. They do have WiFi and it worked perfectly. Any time I called Betty, she answered and met our needs. The location was great because we were near the Crater of Diamonds, Hot Springs and Wegner Crystal Mine. All within 20 mins to an hours drive from each. Plus it was very affordable!!! $57 each night, now that's a deal. Must check this place out, it's a beauty.

We had our family reunion there over Mother's Day Weekend. The rooms are great. The staff was…read moreawesome and very accommodating. Betty was great on coming no matter what time we called her. We will be back. Thank you!!!

What we thought was a bad battery on our boat these guys discovered it was something else. They…read morefixed the problem very quickly squeezing us in and were honest about our battery being good. Took the return and saved us some money! Highly recommend this shop!

Ouachita marine is my go to for all my girls ( boat ) work. They have always delivered superb…read morecare and expertise. Thanks Tom and Crew!!

My daughter and her friends really enjoyed themselves. The people working there are the best…read more Thanks A Narrow Escape for giving the birthday girl a good laugh.

My husband and I did two escape rooms while visiting Hot Springs. One was a traditional escape room…read morewith puzzles. The second was the owner's newest creation. It was interactive, fun and challenging. The owner was very excited to share it with us. Enjoyed the live introduction vs just watching a video like most escape rooms. We will definitely come again next time we are in town! Definitely worth your time. Also visit the Coffee shop Robo World, coffee was pretty great and the robots were friendly.

Before I was told about Avatar Crystal Mine by a sweet friend of mine who has been to Arkansas…read moreseveral times, I had other much more commercialized and seemingly crowded dig sites on our itinerary. This place was great! Mt. Ida - where this outfit is located - is referred to as the "Quartz Crystal Capital of the World." Both Joe and Bee were really friendly owners. They allowed our dog to stay with us. Bee gave me a discount ($20 for all four of us) since we only had an hour to dig. She gave us lots of tips. Took photos of us too with an amazing Ouachita National Forest background. Probably my least favorite thing about this venue is the road leading up to the mine. I saw several cars up there, but I would recommend 4WD if in case of rain. The rain will help the crystals come into view, but that road had some places that looked like it could get sketchy if a downpour occurred. Plus it's a narrow road. One lane. If an on-coming vehicle approaches, one of you has to figure out a safe place to pull over. We made some precious memories even though it was fairly hot and dry that afternoon of July 20, 2025. And we got some amazing crystals considering the duration we were there. Recommend!

I don't know if this is still called Anchor's Away anymore but the contact info is correct. Any…read morewho, my family and I just spent a week on this boat and had the absolute best time! The company actually changed owners after we booked but before we occupied and there wasn't a single bump. From the moment we arrived to after we departed the staff was amazing. We arrived a little early and they were still cleaning the boat but busted their butts so that we could get on early. We brought our own ski boat that of course broke the second we got there - on Memorial Day - but Tammy (owner) called the owner of Iron Mountain Marina to help us out. He locked up our boat over night, gave us a loaner boat free of charge and looked at ours the next day! Amazing, helpful people. The houseboat staff then towed us out to a beautiful cove, that looked like no one had ever been there before, and tied us off for the week. Brett told us about some great rocks to jump off on the other side of the lake and gave great fishing tips for the area.They texted often to see if we needed anything and came any time we needed them. The boat itself was gorgeous! I couldn't believe it. It was nicer AND larger than some apartments I have lived in! We had a blast hanging out, lighting fires on the beach, swimming, jumping off the side, sliding down the slide, etc, etc. To say that I would recommend this trip to anyone is an understatement. I can not wait to go back next year. DeGray Lake is an untouched, pristine lake that everyone should experience and the staff of Anchor's Away and Iron Mountain Marina are icing on the cake!

Amazing Houseboat experience. The houseboat is very nice and super clean and the family owned…read morebusiness all who work there are so nice and accommodating and try to make it the best vacation on a lake that you can possibly have! They will literally bring you a bag of sugar out to your Houseboat if you run out or forgot it as we did! They do all the houseboat driving so you have no worries about navigating a 75 foot boat! We will be back probably every year for a houseboat vacation on Lake Degray!

Bikes were great! Service was great. We appreciate that the bikes were well maintained and he…read moreexplained everything to us very well.

The owners of this bike shop are so sweet! Our group is from all different states and we were…read morelooking for a fun thing to experience while checking out Hot Springs National Park. I've ridden bikes all my life but never a mountain bike which is apparently a lot different. They were super helpful with showing us how to use them - the gears, the seat-shift, the brakes. They were also a fun bunch who had us laughing the whole time (an added bonus!). They even were so incredibly kind to come pick up one of our group members and drive them back to their rental shop for them to wait for the rest of us as it was too hot for them to continue on. We are so thankful for that gesture!!!! Helpful Tip: This place is about 2.5 miles from the nearest biking trail... The five of us drove together in a car so we had to bike UPHILL on a small, single-lane road for the majority of those 2.5 miles before we finally reached there. The cars were friendly and always went around us but it would've been much nicer to have been able to drive the bikes to the trailhead so we could experience more of it. Bring a truck or other bike-supporting vehicle if you plan to rent from this place.