A Day in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Our family is attempting to travel to all 50 states through creative road trips. We prefer to choose a route which may have several destination stops throughout the trip. This often results in spending a short amount of time in one city. We love to get the flavor of the place that we are visiting by experiencing dining experiences, seeing a well-known icon from that area or simply experiencing the understated charm of that particular area.

For this trip, we traveled from Indiana to Texas and back. We had stops in Kansas and Oklahoma on the way to Texas and spent a day in Arkansas on the way back home. We had hoped to visit Hot Springs on our 2025 Spring Break, but had to reroute due to flooding. The city was deemed inaccessible and was out of power on the day we were hoping to visit last year. It was a happy accident that Hot Springs easily fit into this trip back to Indiana.

This guide will outline our time in Hot Springs, Arkansas. We arrived in Hot Springs late in the evening after driving from Fort Worth. We made a quick stop at Texarkana so my girls could stand in Arkansas and Texas at the same time. We also grabbed dinner at a Whataburger. Once arriving in Hot Springs, we stayed at Embassy Suites by Hilton at Hot Springs Convention Center. This is a very large hotel. My girls enjoyed riding in the glass elevators. There were several school groups there during our stay so we did opt to go early to breakfast so we would have a seat. We had a great stay, and we always enjoy the extra space that an Embassy Suites provides.

The next morning we began our day by exploring the Bathhouse Row. We spent time at Fordyce Bathhouse. This is the bathhouse that has a museum in it explaining how the bathhouses used to be utilized. It was a very interesting tour. This bathhouse also offers the National Parks Service Passport stamps so my girls were able to add another national park. We found out that the park rangers have small paper cups available if you want to try the nearby water. You can also bring water bottles to fill with the spring water. After exploring the Fordyce Bathhouse, we took a small walk behind Bathhouse Row on the paved Grand Promenade. It was a beautiful walk. There are hikes available as well if you are planning to hike on that day.

Following our walk, we decided to drive the scenic drive called the Hot Springs Mountain Scenic Drive. There is a historic gazebo at the top that offers some beautiful vistas overlooking the Ouachita Mountains. The Hot Springs Mountain Tower is also an option. We did not choose to go up in the tower. The tower does have a ticketed fee so check the website for current rates.

After our drive, I tossed out some local activities to get a family vote. One activity was a local alligator farm that lets you hold alligators. This was an interesting option for my youngest so we took a quick detour to check out the Arkansas Alligator Farm and Petting Zoo. (They are currently running a special on their website which gives you one dollar off admission per person so check the website for the coupon. ) This petting zoo is very basic, but offered for a bit of fun afternoon entertainment. The farm portion consists of goats, sheep, donkeys, emus, ducks, chickens and bunnies. You receive animal feed as part of your admission and can purchase more. You are able to feed the goats, donkeys and emus. You can purchase lettuce to feed the bunnies and are able to go in the bunny enclosure. You are also able to access the goat enclosure to pet them (after your feed is gone or they will be too eager.) Following the farm portion, we entered another building. This is where we saw tortoises, guinea pigs and parakeets . Purchasing feed for the parakeets is also an option. This is also where the main attraction is as you are able to hold a baby alligator. The baby alligator was named "Cuddles" and is apparently very accustomed to being handled. He did have his mouth wrapped so there was no danger of a nibble. Feeding the alligators is also an option for an additional cost. After exploring this area, you can then walk outside. There are dozens of full-grown alligators to see. There are also a few kinds of birds, a raccoon, wolves, lemurs and a monkey. There is also an attached gift shop. All in all, this was an interesting way to spend a couple of hours. If you are tight on time, this would not be a recommended stop. However, if you have young kids or an alligator enthusiast then it is probably worth checking out.

After the trip to the Alligator Farm we needed some lunch. We were hoping to try the highly acclaimed Grateful Head Pizza in Hot Springs, but were disappointed to find that they were closed for renovations. We made an impulse decision and ended up at the Copper Penny Pub. The pub options were fine, but I am sure there are additional restaurant options in Hot Springs. The pub had just accommodated a large group from a convention and were running low on some of their offered plates.

After having lunch, we wanted to visit Garvan Woodland Garden. This has been high on my list of must-sees during last year's trip so we definitely wanted to fit it in on this trip. Further, we had bought a membership to Botanica in Wichita which allowed us to access Garvan Woodland Gardens for free. Garvan Woodland Gardens was full of lush greenery. This garden is truly a woodland garden with interesting paths and fairy houses for children to discover. At one point on our walk, there were small bronze animals peeking out. This garden is very large and vast. We were not able to visit all the areas. There is a beautiful chapel in the gardens that we were eager to visit. We were able to see it from the outside, but, unfortunately, we were unable to go inside as it was closed to prepare for a wedding rehearsal. We were also disappointed as the treehouse was closed for renovations. We were able to see it from the outside and can appreciate how it would be super fun for families. Despite not being able to access the chapel or the treehouse, we still had a wonderful time in the gardens. If you are hoping to take in some Arkansas beauty, I would highly recommend a trip to Garvan Woodland Gardens.

We enjoyed our day in Hot Springs. We continued on to Marion, Arkansas to spend the night at the Home 2 Suites by Hilton in Marion, Arkansas which is near Memphis. This gave us a reasonable drive home the following day.

Read about our entire road trip on this post: 50 State Journey-The Midwest to the Wild West.

Follow along for more multi-destination trips at Middle of the Road Mindset.