Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas

Celebrates 175 Years of Grandeur

"If you want to get a souvenir, buy a plastic bottle."

The unusual shopping tip came from Josie Fernandez, superintendent of Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.

It's good advice for visitors, most of whom are anxious to sample the legendary water that has been bringing travelers to Hot Springs for over a decade.

Hot Springs is the smallest park in the National Park System. However, the 5,550 acre park is very big on history, tradition along with scenic beauty.

In 1832, forty years before the establishment of Yellowstone, Congress established Hot Springs Reservation to protect 47 thermal springs flowing from Hot Springs Mountain.

Travelers flocked to Hot Springs every year to "take the waters." Future generations carefully preserved the bathing rituals that made the springs a world attraction.

When Congress declared Hot Springs Reservation to be a national park in 1921, developers began building monumental bathhouses with marble and tile walls and floors. The ornate structures were decorated with murals, fountains, statues and stained glass.

Bathhouse Row, a National Historic Landmark District located within the national park, contains the grandest collection of bathhouses of its kind in North America.

Today's visitors can experience the traditional treatments at various establishments including Arlington Hotel & Spa, Buckstaff Bathhouse and Down Town Hotel & Spa.

Visitors staying at Arlington Hotel can request Suite 442. Reportedly Al Capone maintained the suite for his many visits to Hot Springs. Unlike the establishments on Bathhouse Row, the Arlington was located outside the National Park. If Capone had set foot on federal land, he would have been arrested immediately.

The long list of other notable hotel guests also includes Babe Ruth, Ronald Regan, Bat Masterson, Lucky Luciano, John F. Kennedy, Rudolph Valentino and Will Rogers.