HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, HOT SPRINGS ARKANSAS - GULPHA GORGE CAMPGROUND - FEB 16-20, 2025

We left Willow Beach on February 16 and headed to Hot Springs National Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  We booked a site at Gulpha Gorge Campground, just outside of downtown Hot Springs.



The sites here are close together and smaller than we like, but we'll make do.  The weather is going to be chilly the whole time we are here.

On Tuesday, the weather was warm and sunny, so we took a drive to Garland Woodland Gardens, the botanical garden of the University of Arkansas.   The Gardens are nestled in the picturesque Ouachita Mountains of Southwest Arkansas.  Even though it is still winter, the daffodils and tulip greens were beginning to peek out of the ground.  The Gardens are a marvel at what can be done when you use nature as a backdrop.  We were in awe.  You can find a map of the gardens here - Garvin Woodland Gardens.

After visiting the Gardens we drove into downtown Hot Springs and walked along Bathhouse Row.  Bathhouse row still has eight original bathhouse buildings.  They were constructed between the years of 1892 and 1923.   To learn more about the Hot Springs visit - History & Culture.

We had the dogs with us and found The Superior Bathhouse & Brewery that allowed dogs.  We each had a flight of their beers, which are made with water from the Hot Springs.  

Overnight the weather changed, and Hot Springs got an ice storm.  Several roads were closed due to icy conditions.  It was a "stay inside" kind of day.  

We would have loved to bath in one of the bathhouses, but the weather altered our plans.

Hot Springs has a very busy downtown, lots of shops, restaurants and, of course, the bathhouses.

Maybe someday, we'll make it back.  Next stop - Texarkana, Texas.

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