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Population: 35,750 Located in Garland County
Hot Springs is the land of thermal baths and fast ponies. Over two million people visit Hot Springs National Park each year; the nation's first and only urban National Park. Hernando Desoto explored the region in AD 1541, and found the Native Americans already enjoying the benefits of the "Valley of the Vapors". Thomas Jefferson sent an expedition to the area to explore the Ouachita River in 1804. Today, it is the most popular tourist destination in Arkansas. Tourist contribute more than $300 million annually to the local economy.
Hot Springs takes its name from the 47 springs around Central Avenue. These mineral springs flow with hot water which is artificially cooled from a natural temperature of 143 degrees, then pumped into the bath houses and hotels at a more comfortable level.
Visitors to Hot Springs are often reminded of a bygone era, a time when ladies and gentlemen welcomed the evenings with a promenade past stately hotels and thermal baths which lined Central Avenue. "Bathhouse Row" saw its heyday from the late 1800's to the first few decades of the 1900's, and much of the historic downtown district is well preserved and being restored as part of the National Park. The thermal baths are still an attraction for locals and visitors who come to relax in the healing waters. Shopping in the art galleries and antique stores which line Central Avenue is a great afternoon or evening past time.
The history of Hot Springs is also spiced with a colorful reputation for entertainment, illegal gambling and a plethora of brothels, which attracted many famous and infamous visitors like Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde, Theodore Roosevelt and others.
Typical housing price ranges vary from the $40's to upwards of in access of $700,000+. Our average single family price range is around the $110,000 range. Prices realized will be higher along the shoreline of beautiful Lake Hamilton, typically from $300,000 to over $1,500,000.
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