Hot Springs, Arkansas

Location: Hot Springs National Park, conveniently located in south-central Arkansas in the south 2.45h flight from LA; 4h from NYC
Population: 38,468 as of 2007 (Sperling’s Best Places)
Size: the city has a total area of 33 square miles
Median resident age: 42 years
Median Home Price: $350,000 (MONEY Magazine)
Cost of Living: 15.6% lower than the national average (Sperling’s Best Places)
Average temperature: Hot Springs has four distinct seasons, but all are generally mild. It can get up to 80 degrees in the summer and 20 degrees in the winter (normally in the 50s).

History: Spanish explorer Hernando DeSoto was the first European to visit what Native Americans called the Valley of the Vapors when he and his men reached the area in 1541. Members of many Native American tribes had been gathering in the valley for untold numbers of years to enjoy the healing properties of the thermal springs. There was agreement among the tribes that they would put aside their weapons and partake of the healing waters in peace while in the valley. Congress established the Hot Springs Reservation in 1832, granting federal protection of the thermal waters and giving Hot Springs the honor of being the first “national park” to be designated for such government protection. Hot Springs National Park was formally created in 1911.

Who you might find there: The residents are a real mix. Besides an ever-increasing group of retirees, you’ll find many families with young children, plenty of 20-somethings that keep the towns restaurants in business and lots of visiting tourists.

The Ambiance: Picture-perfect city of Hot Springs is filled with historic landmarks and buildings, classic hotels, Victorian architecture, world-class art studios and galleries, antique stores, small one-of-a-kind boutiques and the famed Bathhouse Row. The downtown area lights up with gas lamps at night.

Why is Hot Springs so appealing?

1. The Hot Springs: The natural thermal water flows into the city from 47 different springs from the Hot Springs Mountain. The water passes slowly through the earth’s surface and rushes rapidly to the surface at the hot springs at a very high 147 degrees Fahrenheit. The natural thermal waters are federally supervised and are used for thermal bathing at several downtown hotels, health spas and the Arkansas Rehabilitation Center.

a. Have a Bath: For a real thermal experience that doesn’t break the bank, head to the World-famous Bathhouse Row. The last operating bathing house is called The Buckstaff. It’s supervised by the Park Service. You can get an hour bath and an hour massage for just $40!
b. Take a Real History Lesson: You can learn about the city’s fascinating past at another one of the bathhouses, the Fordyce, that has been converted into a museum.
c. Drink for Free: There’s no reason to reach for a bottle of Valley Spring Water in Hot Springs. The absolutely pure water from the natural springs is available free for drinking at several fountains in the downtown area.

2. Low cost of living and housing: Hot Springs is one of the top 10 value towns in America for retirees list in 2007 – and Hot Springs an even better bargain because of housing costs.

3. Various Recreational Activities

a. Have old-school pancakes for breakfast. The old Pancake Shop across the Arlington Hotel still serves heavy cream with coffee and real whipped butter with pancakes – and the waitresses know all their customers…they are themselves in their 60s.
b. Visit the art galleries. Hot Springs is a top-four art town in the country. The first Friday every month the city hosts a gallery walk. All the galleries have open houses and you can join countless others walking from gallery to gallery and viewing the work from new artists.
c. Watch movies in October. Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival is one of the top documentary festivals in the world. Besides watching the best documentary films in the world, you’ll be spotting plenty of celebrities as numerous Academy Award winning filmmakers come to town.
d. Listen to jazz and blues in September. Both the Hot Springs Jazz Festival and The Hot Springs Blues Festival come to town in September.
e. Stay fit by hiking the gorgeous trails in the Ouachita Mountains

4. It’s Easy for Families and Friends to Visit

a. How to Get There: Because Hot Springs, Arkansas, is so centrally located, it’s easy to get there by car from many surrounding cities. By air you can fly directly to Hot Springs via Dallas-Fort Worth on Mesa Airlines. Or, fly into Little Rock, 49 miles northeast of Hot Springs, and take a shuttle bus or rent a car for a scenic one-hour drive to Hot Springs.
b. Fun with the Family: Take the whole family digging for treasures in quartz crystal mine or visit 300 alligators in the Arkansas Alligator Farm & petting Zoo.
c. Date with friends: go on a dinner and dancing-cruise on a 400-passenger riverboat on a belle of Hot Springs River Boat. The Belle has sailed beautiful Lake Hamilton since 1984.

FUN FACTS:

* If you get thirsty, there’s no reason to go and buy a bottle of Evian: The thermal water is available free for drinking at several fountains in the downtown area.
* Hot Springs is also the proud hometown of our nation’s 42nd president, former President Bill Clinton.

For more information call 770-815-9824 or email at lplummer@seasideinteractive.com.