looking for the best one day activity in Hot Springs

We will be passing through Hot Springs and only have one day to spend there. What is your favorite thing to do there?

looking for the best one day activity in Hot Springs

If you can handle driving in a very relaxed state I would suggest a bath and massage. I did that a few years ago and then got in the car for the three hour drive home. Hard to stay awake.

My wife and I enjoyed just walking Bath house row, looking at the historic buildings and going in some of the shops. we ate barbecue at McLards, which is the local barbecue insititution around there. We were there in the winter but I know there are lots of great golf courses, lakes, the horse track and an amusement park.

looking for the best one day activity in Hot Springs

With or without kids?

Without, I%26#39;d second Lawied13%26#39;s suggestion of walking Bath House Row and taking in the sights. Hot Springs is small enough to get around pretty well on foot.

With kids, I%26#39;d suggest an abbreviated walking tour and a visit to the Mid-America Science Museum just outside town. It%26#39;s a hands-on science museum with a focus on kids. It was one of the earliest around, and while it%26#39;s a bit dated, my kids and their cousins enjoyed our last visit there a few years ago.

I forgot about that museum. I grew up in Conway, Ark., and we took a lot of field trips there. We also went to the theme park there, Magic Springs maybe?

Yeah, Magic Springs. Went there on a band trip my junior year of high school. Rode one of the roller coasters the minute we walked in the park, despite the fact that I loathe roller coasters. Didn%26#39;t hurl, but spent most of our time there curled up on a bench feeling like I was going to. I%26#39;m pretty sure it closed a few years ago.

I have a special soft spot for the Mid-America Science Museum since one of my college roommates%26#39; father designed most of the exhibits and graphics. He also did the Children%26#39;s Hospital in Little Rock.

Conway, huh? I%26#39;m a Hendrix College alum myself, though most of my early childhood was spent in eastern Arkansas, and my junior high/high school years were mostly in Fayetteville.

I went to basketball camps at Hendrix and UCA as a kid.

I was born in Morrilton, lived in Conway from age 2 to 14 then went to high school and college in the Memphis area. Lived in Dallas for a while and been back in Memphis for five years. There are some things about Memphis that I don%26#39;t like but overall I like it here. As you%26#39;ve seen on the Memphis forum we%26#39;ve had some insults and arguments. They%26#39;re still going strong, although it%26#39;s not as personal now. I guess in a way I started all that on there with shekel but I am so tired of people who live in the suburbs and give out information about how scary downtown is and how they wouldn%26#39;t recommend it to anyone. It is unwarranted. Now we%26#39;re being called baffoons. Anyway, just thought I%26#39;d vent a bit on the Hot Springs forum to someone who posts on Memphis.

My kids love Magic Springs. It has fairly decent rides on one side and a water park on the other. If you want something relaxing walk the down the promenade right behind Bath House road then get a massage and bath. If you like the outdoors, spend the day on Lake Ouachita. The water is about as clear and pretty as you can find in a fresh water lake.

Magic Springs is alive and doing well... Check %26#39;em out at

http://www.magicsprings.com/

We spend a day in Hot Springs almost every year and it is one of our favorite things. We have an RV and spend the day in town. We love to walk the streets, go through the bath museum, just soak in the wonderful old admosphere. WE love the promenade walk just above the main street and if we feel up to it we hike the trail to the top of the mounntain. We take jugs and take water from the springs which is wonderful. We like to have a glass of vino at the Arlington and finish the day at one of the wonderful old restaurants. Angels is our favorite.

We can%26#39;t forget Oaklawn and Garvan Gardens! Here are links to both and to sites with more info about beautiful Hot Springs National Park!

http://www.oaklawn.com/

http://www.garvangardens.org/

http://www.hotsprings.org/

http://www.ci.hot-springs.ar.us/

http://www.hsnp.com/

http://www.hotspringschamber.com/

http://www.hotsprings.com/

city-data.com/city/Hot-Springs-Arkansas.html

Linda Petty

HSNP, AR