Little Rock

Travelers have been venturing to the natural hot and cold mineral springs of this resort city less than an hour from Little Rock since it was first settled in the early 19th century. You can still experience many of the elegant spa facilities of the famed Bathhouse Row, eight buildings from the turn of the 20th century now part of Hot Spring National Park and managed by the National Park Service. Two of the bathhouses—the Buckstaff and the Quapaw—still offer spa services, while the Fordyce Bathhouse now serves as a museum with engaging exhibits about the city’s past. Boutiques and antiques stores have made the city a magnet for shopping, too, and the surrounding Ouachita Mountains provide excellent opportunities for hiking, biking, horseback riding, birding and fishing.