The best running trails around Lake Hamilton

Hot Springs National Park, tucked into the city of Hot Springs, Arkansas, protects 47 thermal springs that have drawn people for centuries. Unlike most national parks, it’s in an urban setting; historic bathhouses line Bathhouse Row, offering a window into the heyday of 20th-century spa culture. You can still soak in the mineral-rich waters today. If you want to get out of the historic town, however, forested trails wind through the surrounding Ouachita Mountains, with overlooks and quiet picnic spots above the town. It's a unique blend of preserved wilderness, geothermal geology, and living history, all within walking distance of downtown.

The Hot Springs National Park Historic Baths Walk takes you past the iconic bathhouses that made this area famous. Running along Bathhouse Row, the paved route winds through the heart of downtown Hot Springs, where you’ll see early 20th-century buildings like the Fordyce, Buckstaff, and Quapaw, each with its own story in the park’s long spa tradition. Interpretive signs and restored architecture offer a glimpse into the era when this was a major health destination. It’s a short, accessible walk and you can still step inside for a soak, just as visitors did a century ago.

The historic Arlington Resort Hotel and Spa is the largest hotel in Arkansas with over 500 rooms and suites and has hosted such icons as AL Capone, Babe Ruth, Johnny Cash, Marilyn Monroe, and presidents John F. Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. The Arlington Hotel has been the premiere resort in the south since 1875.

Designed by architect George Gleim Jr., the present Maurice Bathhouse was built by William Maurice to replace an existing Victorian-style building, the Independent Bathhouse, later renamed the Maurice Bathhouse after owner Charles Maurice (William's father). The present building opened for business on January 1, 1912. With a total floor space of 23,000 square feet, the three-story bathhouse had ample room for a complete range of services and amenities, including a gymnasium, staterooms, a roof garden, twin elevators, and in the 1930s a therapeutic pool, situated in the basement. It was the only bathhouse on the Row to have a pool. The Maurice closed in November 1974.

The old Superior was constructed on portions of the old Hale and Big Iron Bathhouse site. It was made of red brick, some of which may have been reused in the current building. The style of construction was markedly different from that of the Victorian bathouses that were its contemporaries. The business's name was said to derive from offering superior service, but it may also have been meant to appeal to the many health seekers arriving from the upper Midwest. The smallest bathouse on the row the Superior also had the lowest rates; it offered only the basic hydrotherapy, mercury, and massage services. It closed in November of 1983.

The Buckstaff Bathhouse, named for controlling shareholders George and Milo Buckstaff, replaced the old Rammelsberg Bathhouse, a brick Victorian structure. The Rammelsberg replaced the A.B. Gaines Bathhouse destroyed in the 1878 fire, but there was a brick bathouse on the site in the late 1850s as well. Designed by Frank W. GIbb and Company, Architects, the Buckstaff cost $125,000 to build and contains 27,000 square feet on three main floors. Because it has been in continuous operation since it opened on February 1, 1912. It is one of the best preserved of all of the bathhouses on Bathhouse Row. However, it has gone over many changes through the years. Originally, it had a large hydrotherapeutic department, which only it, the Fordyce, and the Imperial offered.

Trailhead with plenty of parking and great views of Hot Springs and the surrounding mountains.

Just a short walk up off the West Mountain Trail takes you out above the trees to a great viewpoint. There is also parking here from where you can start the hike.