Hot Springs National Park
National Park #15
With the RV-10 finally painted, we wanted Spring Break to be our first big trip in the plane. We toyed around with a couple different options but settled on Hot Springs National Park followed by a few days in New Orleans. In case you’re wondering, they’re not really all that close to each other but that’s the advantage of owning a plane.
It was an uneventful trip and with the winds in our favor, we made it to Hot Springs in less than 3 hours.
After a quick dinner and some mini-golf, we relaxed for our big day in the national park.
First stop at Hot Springs National Park Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center. This visitor center has the added feature of having a self guided tour of a working bathhouse from the 1920s. I didn’t take many pictures as we wandered through the bathhouse but the building had some unique features and it’s story was quite interesting.
After checking out the gift shop and a fun photo op, we tried out some hot springs water. Guests are actually encouraged to touch and taste the hot springs water at different locations throughout the park. There are a number of water bottle filling stations with warm and cool water. All four of us tried some of the hot water but drinking warm water is interesting and none of us really cared for it.
Then it was off for a few hours of hiking. Because the trails near bathhouse row are shorter, we strung a few of the trails together to make a 4 mile loop but since we started from Bathhouse Row, the initial trail was quite steep. There was a bit of grumbling on the way up but trail flattened out after about a half a mile and the trail became much less strenuous for the remainder of the hike.
At the top of the mountain is Hot Springs Mountain Tower. The observation deck of the tower provides an additional 216 feet and the views are pretty great.
It turned out to be a great day to be outside and we enjoyed the hike and the views.
By the time we made it back to Bathhouse Row, the kids were done hiking for the day. Since we had some time to before dinner, we headed over to the Mid-America Science Museum.
I was originally drawn to the museum because of it’s Tesla Coil but we didn’t realize that you needed to purchase a ticket for a show and so we missed the coil altogether. However, the museum was great! So many hands on science experiments, plus, an underground cave maze, an outside dinosaur walk, and an elevated outdoor playground. This is a must do attraction if you are in the area.
And that’s a wrap on our day in national park #14.