U.S. National Parks – Object #5

“Of these mighty regions called parks I stand in awe, as one must while looking upon a mountain, a cacti-bristling desert; but to me the gem of all the parks is the
government reservation at Hot Springs, Arkansas. This may be sentiment, the reverie that steals upon us when in a picture gallery we view a scene endeared with recollection; but strangers have told me that this admiration comes not only from the treasured memories of the long ago, but that national Hot Springs is possessed of a charm all its own. And I know that this is true. Nowhere are mountains more graceful. Nowhere is there a mist so silvery, flashing in the rise of the sun. You have the feeling that you stand in the presence of a deep mystery, that theories have been advanced but that after all no one knows the source and the cause of the heat that boils this mighty cauldron…
Hot Springs National Park—administered by the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior — is situated in the Southwestern part of the state of Arkansas, in the wild and picturesque Ozark Mountain region, 34 miles from Benton and 60 miles from Little Rock, the capital of the state.
The waters that give the place its name, gush from the bases of the wooded mountains that comprise the Park, and in the valley is a beautiful city, which nestles against gigantic hills and then spreads out upon a pleasant, broad plain. The cool mountain breezes blow through this valley in the summer time, and in the winter it is protected by the peaks that rim its basin. Nature is here in an entrancing mood. The Ozarks stand guard over the valley and the busy town,
in the splendor of their changing foliages. As a result Hot Springs is not only a
world wide health resort, but an international pleasure resort, one of the most popular in the world. It is the great American Spa in the larger sense of the term, and, as such, it is more a pleasure resort than a health resort. Here are neat resort hotels and magnificent bath
houses; wooded driveways and winding bridle paths; golf courses, speedways and all the other attractions of a center of sport and fashion…

The Park comprises more than 900 acres including Hot Springs mountain, North Mountain, West Mountain and Whittington Lake Park. It contains forty-six thermal springs, which have an average aggregate flow of 826,308 gallons daily, and range in temperature from 102 to 147 degrees. The mountains of the Park rise about 800 feet above the city. Millions of dollars have been expended by the Government in hewing out roadways, trails and walks, that wind around the mountains. At every curve is some new natural picture. The vistas are magnificent. The play of light and shade presents ever new combinations of colors. In the forests are open places beautified by means of landscape gardening and pavilions for rest and shelter.

Fifteen miles of Government-built drives and walks make these mountains easy to climb. From the great tower on the forested heights one looks down upon the city and into the distance where stretch farms, dappled with sun and shade…”