This is the oldest park in the National Park System, established as Hot Springs Reservation by act of Congress in the spring of 1832 (40 years before Yellowstone National Park) to protect hot springs flowing from the southwestern slope of Hot Springs Mountain. People have used the hot spring water for therapeutic baths for hundreds of years to treat rheumatism and other ailments. The Reservation eventually developed into a well-known resort nicknamed "The American Spa" because it attracted, not just the wealthy, but also indigent health seekers from around the world.

Today the park protects 8 historic bathhouses, with the luxurious Fordyce Bathhouse now 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 in the 5500-acre park, the National Park Service continues to provide visitors with such historic leisure activities as hiking, picnicking, and scenic drives.

• Hot Springs Mountain -
• West Mountain to Sugarloaf -

• Soak in the therapeutic waters of the hot springs.
• Take a ranger-guided bathhouse tour, or an outdoor walking tour of the park's thermal features.
• Backpack along the Sunset Trail, which follows mountain ridgetops around the City of Hot Springs.