Arkansas' Scenic And Easy Hot Springs National Park Trail Passes Hidden Thermal Springs And Mountaintop Views

As of 2025, the United States National Park Service protects 63 different national parks and hundreds of other national park sites. This impressive collection encompasses vast landscapes of all shapes and sizes. Well-known American national parks like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon are world-renowned natural wonders, while lesser-known national parks offer unique treasures all their own. For example, Washington's underrated but magnificent North Cascades National Park has the distinction of being one of the world's snowiest places. Yet while many American national parks have distinct features, few are quite as unique as Arkansas' Hot Springs National Park. Located just 50 miles from Clinton National Airport (LIT) in Little Rock, Hot Springs was the smallest national park in the country until 2018. However, despite its small size, Hot Springs offers a wonderful blend of natural beauty and modern luxuries, including the spectacular, yet easy Hot Springs Mountain Trail. 

Hot Springs Mountain Trail is an unforgettable hiking treasure with some of Arkansas' most breathtaking views and gentle terrain. As you may have guessed from the name, Hot Springs Mountain Trail takes hikers past some of the natural hot springs dotting the Arkansas mountains. And yet, the trail is so much more than a relaxing stroll around geothermal pools — it also features mountain scenery that wouldn't look out of place in the Great Smoky Mountains, and one of the best observation towers in America's inner corridor.

Hot springs are something of a specialty feature of many American parks, from the iconic geothermal springs of Yellowstone to the lesser-known tranquil Oregon oasis of Umpqua Hot Springs. Of course, there's only one national park with "hot springs" right in its name, and it happens to be in a state not often associated with geothermal activity. Yet Arkansas' whimsically-named Zig Zag Mountains have one of the most impressive collections of natural hot springs outside of explicitly volcanic areas. The self-descriptive Hot Springs Mountain Trail is a top spot to experience both of the natural wonders it's named after.  

The trail's namesake Hot Spring Mountain is a central feature of the park's small but mighty landscape. Not only is Hot Spring Mountain beautiful to look at, but it also plays a major role in creating the hot springs that make the park so famous. True to its name, Hot Spring Mountain gathers rainwater on its western face and feeds it into the ground, where it is eventually heated and returns to the surface as a hot spring. While you can't actually soak in the park's springs, you can still experience their beauty at the Display Spring and Hot Water Cascade, where geothermal waters flow in full view.

Hot Spring Mountain Trail's main draw is its views, with numerous scenic lookouts spread across the route. Amazingly, despite its epic panoramas, it's a relatively easy hike, with a total length of only around 1.7 miles and an elevation of less than 1,000 feet. The trail also provides easy access to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower, a 206-foot observation tower at the summit that takes you above the tree line and provides spectacular vistas of the surrounding mountainous landscape.

A hike to the top of Hot Springs Mountain is an excellent way to get unforgettable snapshots of the blissful Zig Zag Mountains and the larger Ouachita Mountain Range extending beyond. It's also a great place to get picture-perfect views of the adjacent town of Hot Springs and its charming scenery nestled within the Arkansas mountains. The national park sits right in the middle of the city, making it one of America's most unique places. 

The city of Hot Springs is an excellent place to get some much-needed rest and relaxation after exploring the national park. Historically, it was developed as a natural hot springs spa resort, though Native Americans and early European settlers used the hot springs for centuries before that. Today, the town and national park still feature the historic Bathhouse Row, which contains eight authentic bathhouses built between 1892 and 1923 to take advantage of the therapeutic and supposedly medicinal qualities of the hot springs and their natural mineral water. 

After completing the Hot Springs Mountain Trail and filling your social media with countless photos from the observation tower, stroll on over to one of these historic yet modernized bathhouses for some indulgent hydrotherapy, saunas, massages, and other self-care offerings. The town of Hot Springs also has comfy hotels, resorts, cabins, and B&Bs, though if the Hot Springs Mountain Trail did not fully quench your thirst for nature, you can also camp overnight at the national park's Gulpha Gorge Campground.