[Hot Springs, AR, Mar 24, 2024]

We woke up to a lightly chilly and cloudy weather, but that did not deter us from spending some time outside.

On our way in yesterday, we noticed an observation tower in the mountains. I hadn’t heard about it, but a quick internet search revealed it’s Hot Springs Mountain Tower. The 216-foot (58 m) tower opened in 1983 and is the third tower on this site. An elevator takes you to the observation deck with panoramic views of the Ouachita Mountains, Hot Springs Mountain, and Diamond Lakes area – all at 1,256 feet above sea level.
There are two ways to get here – take a drive or hike the short and gently sloped 1.5-mile trail from our hotel. Of course, we opted for the hike. The clouds obstructed some of the views, but we still enjoyed the experience.

After replenishing our caffeine, we headed a little out of town for the Garvan Woodland Gardens, the botanical garden owned by the University of Arkansas. We weren’t sure if we were going to visit the garden itself, but we definitely wanted to see the famous Anthony Chapel and its bell tower. This architectural masterpiece made of wood and glass is absolutely stunning, both inside and out. It is open to the public except for when there are events going on. We got lucky because we had just enough time to see it before it closed for a wedding. We didn’t think there was too much blooming in the garden yet, so we didn’t visit it.

The bell tower

In the early afternoon, it was time for our visit to Quapaw Bathhouse. There were five public pools with different temperatures, and some featured waterfalls. We enjoyed them all until it was time for our private soak, which was not that great in my opinion. It was just a huge bathtub in an enclosed space that was very basic. I personally would have just rather stayed in the public pool area.

Later on, we tried the rooftop bar at the Waters Hotel. We were hoping to get a bite to eat, but the outside patio was deserted and the menu was limited. The view of Bathhouse Row was great though, so we took some picture there.

For actual dinner, we went to a different restaurant called Roland’s and finished the night off with some local ice cream. It was the last full day of our trip and we marveled at how much ground we covered. Starting in Chicago and driving all the way down to Hot Springs via Kentucky was nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 km). What an amazing trip!