![]() You can venture about 20 minutes away from this area of town to go swimming or boating on the popular Lake Hamilton or visit the beautiful and peaceful Garvan Woodland Gardens. Central Ave is full of shops, restaurants, hotels and a multitude of tourists. It includes historic buildings on Central Ave as well as protected nature with hiking, camping and other outdoor activities. The Hot Springs National Park is a mix of both history and nature. Today, Hot Springs is not quite the same spa town as it used to be, but it still has plenty to do and ways to experience the mineral hot springs. The Fordyce Bathhouse, now the park's visitor center From then on, spring training in Hot Springs attracted players from all over the country, where baseball legends trained for the season while also enjoying the bustling night life of the resort town. Beginning in 1886, the Chicago White Stockings (now the cubs) began spring training at the Hot Springs. The Ozark Bathhouse, now housing the Hot Springs National Park Cultural CenterĪnother interesting piece of the Hot Springs history has to do with baseball. The gangster activity in Hot Springs lasted until the 1960’s, when the government shut down what they called the “largest illegal gambling operation in the U.S.” The town was an ideal hideaway for mobsters like Frank Costello and Al Capone, and essentially had Vegas-style amenities before Las Vegas was urbanized. Hot Springs became an official National Park in 1921, and at the time it was a popular hangout for mobsters, bootleggers and gamblers. As the years passed, Victorian style bath houses were built and became spas harnessing the thermal water. It was the first federally protected land in the United States and became America’s first resort town. As American expansion moved westward, Hot Springs became federally protected land in 1832. Native Americans were the long-time original dwellers in the area and called the region the “Valley of the Vapors.” They believed that the hot water possessed healing properties. Hot Springs, AR is named after the natural mineral hot springs that are found in the area. The Buckstaff Bathhouse, which has been operating as a spa since 1912 Other Things To Do Nearby Hot Springs National Park Hiking Trails in Hot Springs National Park Visit the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitor Center Things To Do in Hot Springs National Park
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