decEMBER 2021

Hot Springs National Park

Where:  central Arkansas 

Directions: Interstate 30 to US 70

Good to Know:

* About the only thing your dog will miss at Hot Springs is a long soak in a bathhouse.

Why so good:   

ONE TAIL-FRIENDLY NATIONAL PARK.

The water that bubbles to the ground at 143 degrees Farenheit fell to earth 4,000 years ago, percolating deep into the earth and heating four degrees every 300 feet before seeping out of the lower west slope of Hot Springs Mountain. Spanish explorers and French trappers visited the springs for centuries. In 1832 the federal government made its first stab at the national park concept by reserving land around the springs but nothing was done to back up the designation and private bathhouses flourished in the tourist mecca. In 1921 Hot Springs was elevated to national park status and carries on now as a unique protective cocktail of historic small city and park.

There are more than 30 miles of top-notch hiking trails available in Hot Springs, mostly on short, inter-connecting jogs on the low-lying, rounded Hot Springs Mountain and West Mountain that flank the city. Many of these paths were carved for visitors who were encouraged to walk daily in addition to their baths as part of an all-encompassing healthy routine at the spas. Most were constructed wide enough to handle carriages and are still roomy today. Although the mountains only top out at little more than 1,000 feet expect to find some climbs that will leave you and your dog panting. Also, there aren’t many streams so make sure you carry plenty of cooling water for your dog on a summer afternoon’s outing.

For extended canine hiking head out on the Sunset Trail that leaves West Mountain and tags Music Mountain at 1,405 feet (the highest spot in the park) before doubling back onto Sugarloaf Mountain. This trail doesn’t loop and is a good candidate for a car shuttle. Back in town you can take your dog on a tour of Bathhouse Row with a half-mile saunter down the Promenade, visiting several of the 47 springs that flow at an average rate of 850,000 gallons a day.

Just as Hot Springs is the first national park in the South its neighbor, the Ouachita National Forest, is the oldest national forest in the southern United States. Begun as the Arkansas National Forest the Ouachita now comprises 65,000 acres and six wilderness areas. The star of the forest is the 223-mile long Ouachita National Recreation Trail  that is a backpacking route that runs all the way into Oklahoma through the mountains that never rise higher than 2,753 feet.