Mr. Williams' Hiking Page

I tried a Stratus Trailstove a couple of years ago and I haven't used anything else since. It's unbeatable, it burns wood which many people seem to think is primitive, I agree it's primitive and it works great. Why should we have to bring compressed gas to the wilderness when people were doing just fine for thousands of years with wood. It weighs less than a pound and costs $19.95, need I say more? Just get one and your hiking will be easier in every way.

CAMPING STOVE

If you don't have a dependable light source you could get into very big trouble if you start running late and the sun starts going down. It's a good idea to bring an extra flash light with you too. Make sure that both flash lights have good batteries and that they both use the same type of batteries.

LIGHT

It's good to have a camp saw. Normally you just use it to cut firewood but sometimes you need it make a shelter in case of an emergency.

CAMPING SAW

Good quality sleep is very important when your out in the woods, you feel a lot better if you get a good nights sleep. Sleep on something you are very comfortable on. I recommend an air mattress, they weigh a little bit but I think it's worth it.

SLEEPING PAD

Always bring about 4 or 5 ounces of high concentration alcohol for treating injuries and as an emergency fuel.

RUBBING ALCOHOL

A good water filter is a very useful item but it's not entirely necessary. If you have a pot and a light weight wood stove such as the Trailstove you can disinfect all the water you need by boiling it. It's worth it to bring one though just for the convenience of having cool drinking water at once, when you boil it you have to wait a while until it cools down but in an emergency that's ok.

WATER FILTER

1. COLLECT WOOD. You should have about 20 to 30 very thin twigs, and 10 to 15 small sticks to get the fire started and as many larger pieces you need to keep the fire going for as long as you need it.

2. BOTTOM BRANCHES. If the ground is covered with snow you can break dry branches off the bottom of a tree.

3. STARTER MATERIAL. You will need some material that ignites very easily to start the fire. There are a number of things you can use for this. Dry leaves, dry grass, bark, or chips from a dry semi-decomposed dead tree. Paper works fine too if you have some with you.

4. FIRE RING. Find a good location for your fire, there should be nothing nearby that could catch fire such as dry vegetation. Make a ring on the ground with rocks.

5. STARTER MATERIAL. Place the starter material in the center of the fire ring. Make sure there's plenty of air around each piece of material.

6. TWIGS. Make a teepee around the starter material using the thin twigs you collected earlier.

7. STICKS. Put the larger sticks around your twig teepee. Finish off with some more massive pieces.

9. WAIT. In about a minute the starter material has started to ignite the small twigs.

10. FIRE. After a few minutes your fire will be in full flame. Soon the teepee will collapse into a shapeless collection of burning wood, don't worry this is all normal and good. By now you fire is stable and will keep burning for as long as you feed it wood.

Hot Springs National Park

Congress established Hot Springs Reservation on April 20, 1832 to protect hot springs flowing from the southwestern slope of Hot Springs Mountain. This makes it the oldest park currently in the National Park System--40 years older than Yellowstone National Park. People have used the hot spring water in therapeutic baths for more than two hundred years to treat rheumatism and other ailments. The reservation eventually developed into a well-known resort nicknamed "The American Spa" because it attracted not only the wealthy but also indigent health seekers from around the world. Today the park protects eight historic bathhouses with the former luxurious Fordyce Bathhouse housing the park visitor center. The entire "Bathhouse Row" area is a National Historic Landmark District that contains the grandest collection of bathhouses of its kind in North America. By protecting the 47 hot springs and their watershed, the National Park Service continues to provide visitors with historic leisure activities such as hiking, picnicking, and scenic drives. Hot Springs Reservation became Hot Springs National Park by a Congressional name change on March 4, 1921.

Phone
Visitor Information - 501-624-2701
Visitor Information (TDD) - 501-624-2308
Superintendent's Office - 501-623-2824

TRAVEL BASICS

Operating Hours, Seasons
The park and Gulpha Gorge Campground are open year round. The visitor center is open daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Summer hours are effective May 28-August 12--9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Getting There
PLANE - Hot Springs is serviced by a local airport, Hot Springs Memorial Field, or Little Rock National Airport (with shuttle service and rental cars.)

CAR - Hot Springs National Park is in downtown Hot Springs; Bathhouse Row is on Central Avenue with the mountains of the park flanking the street. Visitors traveling north-south on I-30 take the Hot Springs US 70 West exit south of Benton, the Hot Springs US 270 West exit at Malvern, or the Hot Springs Ark. 7 North exit near Arkadelphia; visitors traveling south on Ark. 7 will come through downtown Hot Springs where the visitor center is located; visitors traveling south on US 71 from Fort Smith, or north on US 71 from Texarkana, take the US 270 East exit; visitors coming from Oklahoma on US 70 would take this route all the way into Hot Springs. When you get into the city you will see signs for the National Park. The Visitor Center is located downtown on Highway 7 North or Central Avenue.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION - Amtrak's Texas Eagle route serves Little Rock and Malvern, Arkansas, with shuttle services to Hot Springs. Greyhound Bus Lines also services Hot Springs with a station located at 229 West Grand Avenue. For fare and scheduling information, call 1-800-231-2222.

Weather & Climate
Central Arkansas has four seasons: mild in spring and fall with some humidity, a light jacket is recommended; hot and very humid in summer, wear comfortable clothing; winter: variable--temperatures may range from below freezing to the 60s, with some humidity. Be prepared for cold weather.

Accessibility
The Visitor Center is fully accessible with wheelchairs available for loan. There is a loading zone in front of the Visitor Center; parking is across the street in public lots or in a city lot at the south end of Bathhouse Row.

A model of Bathhouse Row and other architectural features is available for blind and visually impaired visitors. The park brochure is available on cassette and large print park information can be obtained at the information desk.

An American Sign Language interpreter can be provided for regularly scheduled tours with five days notice.

Getting Around
For getting around in the park, you may use personal vehicle or bicycles on the roads. Some tour companies offer tours and the city of Hot Springs runs a trolley to the tower on Hot Springs Mountain May-October. Tour buses or other vehicles more than 30 feet long are prohibited on Hot Springs Mountain because the road has hairpin curves.

FEES/PERMITS

Activity Fee
CAMPSITE
$10.00 for Day

Special Use Permits
COMMERCIAL TOUR BUS OPERATORS

$100.00 for Annual
Bus companies bringing visitors to the park to tour are required to purchase an Incidental Business Permit. Contact the superintendent's office at 501-624-3383, ext. 620.

WEDDINGS IN PARK

$variable for One Time
Fee varies ($50.00+) according to number in wedding party and if electricity is used. Two hours are allowed for a small wedding, four for a large wedding. Contact the superintendent's office Monday-Friday at 501-624-3383, ext. 620

CAMPING

Gulpha Gorge
Open All Year
Camping is available at Gulpha Gorge Campground for $10.00 per night($5.00 with a Golden Age or Golden Access card.) Sites are available on a first come, first served basis. No reservations can be taken. Campsites have a picnic table, pedistal grill, and water nearby. There are no electric or water hookups and no showers. Modern rest rooms and a dump station are available. Campgrounds with more amenities are available in the surrounding area. For more information on camping and backpacking in the Ouachita National Forest, camping at Lake Ouachita, Corps of Engineers, and Arkansas State Parks go to the links section.

LODGING

City of Hot Springs
Hot Springs National Park surrounds the north end of the city of Hot Springs. Lodging abounds in the city just outside the park. For information on lodging in the surrounding area, go to the links section and link to the Hot Springs Advertising and Promotion site or the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism site.

FACILITIES

Visitor Centers
HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK VISITOR CENTER
Open All Year 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Phone - 501-624-3383, ext. 640
Location - The visitor center is located in the former Fordyce Bathhouse on Bathhouse Row in downtown Hot Springs. Bathhouse Row is located on Arkansas Highway 7 or Central Avenue between Reserve and Fountain Streets. Parking is available in private lots and meters on all adjacent streets.
Closures - January 1, Thanksgiving Day, December 25
Special Programs - During the summer, special family programs are being offered several afternoons and evenings each week. Call the visitor center for the daily program schedule.
Exhibits - The Fordyce Bathhouse exhibits 24 rooms that are refurnished like they were when the building opened for baths in 1915. Modern exhibits on the second floor detail the use and development of the spa. The Fordyce Spring is also on display in the basement.
Available Facilities - The visitor center in the former Fordyce Bathhouse is also a museum offering self-guided tours. Considered the most elegant bathhouse when completed in 1915, it contains lovely mosaic tile floors, marble, stained glass windows and ceilings, gymnasium, and routine bathing equipment. The park 15-minute orientation movie, "Valley of Vapors," offers a brief history of the area. "Taking the Baths" is a 9-minute video showing the traditional bathing routine in the Hot Springs bathhouses. Eastern National has a bookstore with books and other items pertaining to the baths and the park. Rest rooms and water fountains are located in the basement.

I tried a Stratus Trailstove a couple of years ago and I haven't used anything else since. It's unbeatable, it burns wood which many people seem to think is primitive, I agree it's primitive and it works great. Why should we have to bring compressed gas to the wilderness when people were doing just fine for thousands of years with wood. It weighs less than a pound and costs $19.95, need I say more? Just get one and your hiking will be easier in every way.		CAMPING STOVE
If you don't have a dependable light source you could get into very big trouble if you start running late and the sun starts going down. It's a good idea to bring an extra flash light with you too. Make sure that both flash lights have good batteries and that they both use the same type of batteries.		LIGHT
It's good to have a camp saw. Normally you just use it to cut firewood but sometimes you need it make a shelter in case of an emergency.		CAMPING SAW
Good quality sleep is very important when your out in the woods, you feel a lot better if you get a good nights sleep. Sleep on something you are very comfortable on. I recommend an air mattress, they weigh a little bit but I think it's worth it.		SLEEPING PAD
Always bring about 4 or 5 ounces of high concentration alcohol for treating injuries and as an emergency fuel.		RUBBING ALCOHOL
A good water filter is a very useful item but it's not entirely necessary. If you have a pot and a light weight wood stove such as the Trailstove you can disinfect all the water you need by boiling it. It's worth it to bring one though just for the convenience of having cool drinking water at once, when you boil it you have to wait a while until it cools down but in an emergency that's ok.		WATER FILTER