The following descirption is for individuals who have not visited Hot Springs National Park: First, Hot Springs National Park is not really a park with hot springs. Indeed, within the actual boundaries of the park there are no hot springs. In the park itself there are many trees and trails, none of which are particularly noteworthy. Thus, if you are looking for a mini Yellowstone you are out of luck. Pristine hot springs do not exist in Hot Springs.

Okay, then what is the attraction. The attraction is the bathhouses. For more than one hundred years visitors came to Hot Springs to enjoy the bathhouses, which were built over the pristine hot springs. Some of these bathhouses have been restored by the National Park Service. The Fordyce Bathouse is the park's headquarters. A few of the bathouses are fully functional and open for business.

I have to admit coming from the West, I was shocked when I arrived at Hot Springs. I expected to find beautiful hot springs in a forest of trees. There are two little cemented hot springs that are in the town, but their natural beauty is gone. If you do visit the area, you might want to bring a lot of empty water jugs; in the middle of the town the park service supplies as much cold spring water as visitors can handle. This water is treated the same way that spring water bottling companies treat their water. People bring giant containers to take advantage of this unlimited spring water supply.