*as seen in North Canton Living Magazine
I knew I was in for an interesting experience when my instructions were “Strip bare, leave your clothes in your locker and place the key chain around your neck. Poke your head out when you are ready and I will wrap you in a sheet.” Confused and concerned, I stood naked in my cubicle taking deep breaths before poking out my head completely unsure what was to happen next. But I reasoned, thousands upon thousands had gone before me and I could as well.
So I did. Poke my head out. She instructed me to turn around and before I knew it, she had completely wrapped me in a large sheet. She then gestured to the next person who guided me to the next stop.
I had to leave my hearing aids behind. Clad only in glasses and thin sheet, I shuffled behind as the aide gestured me toward a stall with a porcelain tub and whirlpool jet.
For the next three hours, I soaked in a hot tub, steam tank, steam table, sitz bath and then a massage. I had just experienced a typical bath from the golden age of bathing in Hot Springs National Park.
After the spa, I visited the Hot Springs National Park museum. The museum is three stories showcasing a magnificent 1920s spa with soaring stained glass ceilings and windows. The museum took me through the same experience I had that morning. Tub, table, steam and sitz. Thousands of people traveled to Hot Springs for the cure – this was a time long before antibiotics. As I took my time reading every paragraph, I began to understand the “golden age of bathing” and my morning experience.
The spa recommended lunch across the street at the Ohio Bar. The longest continually running bar in Arkansas. The Ohio Bar showcases a magnificent carved mahogany bar and a deep history. A favorite watering hole, The Ohio Bar hosted many gangsters like Capone and Bugsy Seigel. Hot Springs was designated a neutral zone where many treaties and deals were negotiated. Not just gangsters either but presidents and entertainers. Hot Springs was Vegas – before Vegas existed!
I admit that when I finally reached my campsite in the mid afternoon, I slept. I slept for almost ten hours! Lights and clothes were still on when I woke the following morning!
What I Learned
The hot springs produce enough water to fill an olympic pool daily.
Bathing cost 55 cents for one and a course of 21 baths would be ten dollars. Average iron worker at the time made 16 cents per hour. Not to mention the cost of travel, housing and food.
The mahogany bar was found by the owner at a Cincinnati bar and transported by rail and then a special horse cart.
Drilling over time indicates that the hot springs are interconnected – drilling in one area resulted in another drying up.
The Fordyce Bathhouse (site of the NPS visitor center) was built in 1915. The photos are from the Fordyce Bathhouse. Of course, I was not allowed a camera while experiencing the baths.
When You Go
Hot Springs is a national park wrapped in a town. There is an excellent park campground just outside of town and of course every hotel imaginable. Some hotels are historic and symbolic of the roaring 20’s. Others are traditional family hotels. Consider a spa hotel that offers services utilizing the mineralized hot springs water.
There is no entry fee to Hot Springs NP so an annual park pass is not needed to visit.
The visitors center is worth a stop with its museum. You gain an appreciation for not only the geology but the history of the area.
The summer is excellent to visit with a nearby state park and lake with lots of recreational opportunities.
There are two bathhouses – Buckstaff which I visited without a reservation and Quapaw that requires a reservation. Each is unique and similar in cost.