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Fifty miles southwest of Little Rock, the spa town
of HOT SPRINGS nestles in the heavily forested
Zig Zag Mountains on the eastern flank of the Ouachitas. Its thermal
waters have attracted visitors since Native Americans used the
area as a neutral zone to settle disputes. Early settlers fashioned
a crude resort out of the wilderness, and after the railroads
arrived in 1875 it became a European-style spa. During the Twenties
and Thirties, the mayor reputedly ran a gambling syndicate worth
$30 million per annum, and punters included Al Capone and Bugsy
Malone. However, Hot Springs's popularity waned when new cures
for arthritis appeared during the Fifties, and all but one of
the bathhouses closed down. There was a surge of interest after
Clinton's election - he lived here between 1953 and 1964 - and
the visitor center at Central Avenue and Court
Street (tel 501/321-2277) provides a glossy leaflet marking his
favorite haunts.
Downtown Hot Springs is crammed
into a looping wooded valley, barely wide enough to accommodate
Central Avenue. Eight magnificent buildings here, behind a lush
display of magnolia trees, elms and hedgerows, make up Bathhouse
Row. Between 1915 and 1962, the grandest of them all was the
Fordyce Bathhouse , at the 300 block of Central, which
reopened in 1989 as the visitor center for HOT
SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK - the only national park to fall
within city limits. The interior of the Fordyce is a strange mixture
of the elegant and the obsolete; the heavy use of marble, mosaic-tile
floors and the stained-glass ceiling of the Sun Room lend it a
decadent feel (daily 9am-5pm; free; tel 501/624-3383).
It's still possible to sample the old-time luxury
of Hot Springs by taking a bath . The only establishment
on Bathhouse Row still open for business is the Buckstaff, where
a thermal mineral bath costs $14 (Mon-Fri 7-11.45am & 1.30-3pm,
Sat 7-11.45am; tel 501/623-2308). Full bathing facilities are
also available at several hotels. To taste the water, which lacks
the strong sulphuric taste often associated with thermal springs,
fill up a container at the drinking fountain at Central and Reserve.
To the rear of the Fordyce, two small springs
have been left open for viewing. The Grand Promenade from
here is a half-mile red-and-yellow-brick walkway overlooking downtown.
Trails of various lengths and severity lead up the steep slopes
of Hot Springs Mountain . To reach the summit,
take a short drive or any of several different trails, including
a testing two-and-a-half-mile hike through dense woods of oak,
hickory and short-leafed pine. The observation decks of Mountain
Tower at the top offer superb views of the town, the
Ouachitas and surrounding lakes (daily summer 9am-9pm; times vary
in winter and also toward the end of summer; $5; tel 501/623-6035).
