## Overview

 Gulpha Gorge campground is a tree lined retreat nestled on Gulpha Creek just a few minutes from downtown Hot Springs National Park and historic Bathhouse Row. Open all year, the campground features 44 campsites all suitable for RVs and tents. This popular spot is the ideal base camp for all of your Hot Springs adventures and tends to fill up quickly, even in the fall and winter. Reservations are recommended.\_\_\_\_ 
## Recreation

 Hot Springs National Park boasts 26 miles (42 km) of stunning trails. Gulpha Gorge Campground has a trail access to Hot Springs Mountain and Bathhouse Row.\_\_ The campground sits adjacent to Gulpha Gorge Creek. The creek is perfect for wading, sitting and playing.\_\_\_\_ 
## Facilities

 Each of the 44 sites has both 30 and 50 amp power, water and sewer hook ups as well as paved parking. The facility boasts three separate restroom facilities as well as a day use area to enjoy a picnic. Sites have a picnic table, fire rings and/or grills.\_\_ All campground roads are paved and one way to help reduce traffic.\_\_ Sites 4 and 17 are ADA accessibile. Each site connects to a comfort station via a paved walkway and the picnic tables, fire rings, grills, and hook ups are all within a concrete pad. These sites are only reservable one week in advance.\_\_ Campground hosts are on site to help ensure you have an enjoyable stay. There are many nearby restaurants and shopping areas. Feel like taking a hike? There is even a trail head in the campground. The beautiful creek is a great way to cool down in the warm summer months. 
## Natural Features

 Sit back and relax to the sounds of adjacent Gulpha Gorge Creek under the canopy of towering trees while being serenaded by the local winged inhabitants and you just may forget you are so close to downtown Hot Springs National Park.\_\_\_\_ Enjoy a stunning hike to Bathhouse Row with mountain-top views along the way. Dip your toes in Gulpha Gorge Creek or stretch out on the cool grass to enjoy the breeze while planning a visit to one of the stunning spas on historic Bathhouse Row. 
## contact\_info

 For facility specific information, please call (501) 620-6715. 
## Nearby Attractions

 Gulpha Gorge campground is just a few minutes from downtown Hot Springs National Park and historic Bathhouse Row. 
## Charges &amp; Cancellations

 \_\_Cancellations more than 72 hours in advance of arrival date only incur a $10 transaction fee. Within 72 hours, $10 and the first night\'s fee are charged.

Gulpha Gorge Campground — Hot Springs National Park

It’s hard to believe this little campground is on the farside of the touristy Hot Springs. A nice little stream runs along the backside of the campground and it’s actually quiet. You can hike up and over the hill to see the springs. Not a lot of space to put a bunch of toys but a well maintained area.

Small and crowded

With close proximity to the town of Hot Springs, AR, this campground is well maintained and convenient but lacks in privacy.  I stayed here as an overnight while driving north through the Midwest.  I got here late and they had a ticket dispensing machine to pay for and select the site you wanted (much like the ones used to pay for parking).  The campground was clean though the site I was in (32) was a bit small and located between the two main roads in and out of the camp.  I was also close to the bathroom for better or worse.  The bathrooms had running water and were clean enough – nothing too special.  My site was grassy and flat but lacking in overall privacy.  There were a row of campsites right next to the creek that runs through the campground and those looked much nicer.  I didn’t have reservations and arrived late so I must have gotten the slim pickings of what was left.  Because I was there in the middle of summer the mosquitos were bad though a nice cloud cover kept the temperatures down.  I imagine the sites closer to the water may have had many mosquitos!  The other campers were all very friendly which made up for their relative close proximity. My favorite part of the campsite was the fireflies which I hadn’t seen in many many years as a west coast resident. They were definitely the highlight of my stay.
	The next morning I explored the Hot Springs National Park.  The campground is a short drive to the bathhouse row. It was midweek so there were very few people wandering around.  The bathhouses were beautiful and though I did not indulge the spa packages seemed very nice.  There were plenty of shops restaurants and other things to do in this area. I took a scenic drive up one of the hills and got a great view (but cloudy) of the surrounding area.  The hot springs can be seen coming out of the mountains as well as out into manmade fountains.  They also have locations where you can fill up your water bottles with the mineral water for free – delicious!! There seemed to be lots of lakes and hiking nearby as well.  Overall this is a very unique national park and a perfectly fine campground. While not making my top ten, it was a great place to spend a night.


Basic, well maintained and close to Hot Springs

Well maintained facility. Spaces are close together with minimal privacy. About a 5 minute drive to enter the park and reach bath house row. Trails are accessible at the back of the campground. 

Hot Springs National Park's only campground 

This site Is OK. The site is near a river and is very pretty. The site is 10 dollars for dry camping and 30 dollars for the full hookup like showers. The site has a lot of RVs at night so you can hear generators and TVs. The site is well maintained and the restrooms were really clean and there is a propane heater in the restroom because the temperature drops at night. At night you should have extra firewood at night because you will go through it pretty quick and there is a really cool breeze at night even though its summer. The Rv campers  were really friendly occasionally coming over and sharing their chili and mac and cheese. There is a grill and picnic table in the campground.  There is a trail at the start of the gorge called Dead Chief Trail with was really difficult because of the slippery dirt and elevation gain.

The park and campground are connected by trails but you have to drive to town (i.e. Historic district) to get from one to the other by vehicle. Challenging single track trAils and you could feasibly avoid the tourist hoopla if you want to. Campground is behind the picnic area and other visitors drive through to get to one of the trailheads, not ideal. Restrooms, no shower, so bring your own or there's always the small river that runs on the back of the campground. 

BYOS...

Love it here so much, sadly it is becoming way too popular

Love this place

Well kept, close proximity camping. Close to each other and a nice scenic river and a trail to the top. I would not stay here for the true camping experience but it is a nice place to stay near the tourist side of Hot Springs that doesn't feel like town.

Serve its purpose

hot water

This was a really beautiful, busy campground nestled in a river! It was hot as anything (but also August) and very crowded. The town the National park is in is really cool! A lot of history here. And this campground is close to all of it- along with being dog friendly! 

Hot is right!

This campground is tightly pack with little privacy.  The sites are adequate for a tent but its set up for the camper/RV crowd.  On the plus side, it is close to town and all the attractions and close to plenty of trails to explore and only cost $10 to camp.

Hot Springs is unlike other national parks in the fact that it is an urban park, located in the middle of Hot Springs, Arkansas. To camp inside the park, your only option is Gulpha Gorge. When we visited in February, we found this campground almost empty, adequate, and an easy way to save money while visiting the national park.

Amenities at Gulpha Gorge include basic flush toilets, picnic tables, and hookups at every site. Sites all run $30/night, and they are all first-come, first-served. This was not a problem for us, since we were visiting in the off-season, but during summer it probably fills up quickly.

Our main motivation for staying here was that we wanted to camp inside each national park we visited. But in an urban park like Hot Springs, the experience wasn’t much of a scenic one. If we return, we’ll opt for camping in the nearby Ouachita National Forest or something a bit cheaper and more secluded. Gulpha Gorge was perfectly adequate for an in-park camping experience.

The rest of our time at Hot Springs was spent touring the historic bathhouses (free ranger tours!), hiking the trails -- we liked the Sunset Trail! -- and ending our day at the NPS’s only brewery: Superior Bathhouse.

You can read much more about our three days in the park on our blog: [Switchback Kids (Hot Springs)](http://switchbackkids.com/hot-springs/)

Adequate urban national park camping, underwhelming scenery

There are not a lot of National Parks located smack in the middle of a town, but Hot Springs is an exception. With the majority of the park lining one of the more busy strips of Hot Springs a campground so close is such an asset to being near all the action and that is where Gulpha Gorge comes into play.

There are many positives to this campground well beyond the proximity itself. With electricity at all sites and a flat rate it seems to have a lot of positives to check off. However with the positives also are a few negatives. That flat rate applies to tents and RVs, which makes it a little steep for a typical tent camper in this area at $30\. For an RV its a deal! Also for that price point there is no shower available only a restroom.

I checked out this campsite when trying to make a decision on a trip in August. It was warm outside but not overly hot at the time which was nice. However, because the summer was still winding down, unfortunately this campground was full as it is a first come first serve campground. This was more than a little disappointing considering I had driven so far and then had to settle for finding another option.

But because I do travel often and many times to leave Texas and get pretty much anywhere I do pass through Arkansas, I went ahead and checked out the site a little before finding my next option. It was great! The grounds were well kept, the roads were smooth and wide enough to travel down easily and the people were all pretty friendly.

While it didn’t have showers it did offer a pavilion and an amphitheater which apparently they have functions at often. And the best thing I found was one of the National Park trails heads right out from the campground and over to one of the rivers/creeks which made for a really amazing place to lay your head at night.

The other trails for the park were within walking distance. As this is one of the smallest parks in the park system there are only about 25 miles of trails all together and the campground is pretty much the hub.

I ended parking not far from the campground in a free lot located just behind the Springs row, I suggest if you stay here and do decide you want to drive you look into this parking structure which is clearly labeled FREE. From here I walked around some of the trails which could have been accessed from inside the campground and also visited the main attraction, the visitor center and hot springs. All within 5 minutes of this site, pretty amazing, no wonder it filled up before I could get there.

I will be back, even with that $30 price tag, because though the sticker shock might have been off putting the savings in gas just driving around would have by far made up for that little difference of what I ended up paying at my other campsite.

TIPS:

*   Arrive Early!!!
*   Consider outdoor shower options since there is no shower option at this location just make sure you are respectful of others.
*   Bring your supplies in, there is no reason to leave once you get here if you come prepared. Just come prepared and then enjoy your time!

Middle Of All The Action

This campground is small, and being a National Park campground it is pricey. Its sites are also first-come-first-served campsites. But, if you come at the right time of year (when it's not too hot out) the hiking is terrific. From the campground, you can cross the creek and hike up the hill to an awesome lookout, stop at the top of the hill and visit the tower (for a fee, but it is worthwhile both for the view as well as reading the plaquards to learn the history of the area). Then continue hiking _over_ the hill and down the other side to Hot Springs Bathhouse Row, where you can fill your bottle/jug with piping hot spring water. The Promenade and Bathhouse Row are the best part of Hot Springs to explore, including the National Park museum bathhouse. Back at the campground, you can take a short hike in a different direction through the woods to end up at a little BBQ restaurant. And finally, drive or hike to the trail called "Balanced Rock". It too is a worthwhile hike if you reach the namesake boulder balanced upon another boulder.

Hiking to views, history, and BBQ

Gulpha Gorge is a great campground. There are lots of good hiking trails in the Hot Springs National Park. While they do have nice restroom facilities, they do not have showers. The campsites are first come (not reservable). The sites could be a little better spaced apart, but it is still a nice campground. There are mountain biking trails and a disc golf course just up the road at Cedar Glades Park, which is nice.

Great campground in Hot Springs - lots of things nearby

This campground was pretty and it was clean. Arrive early because it is first come first serve and gets full. Sites are close together but overall I have no complaints. Apparently there is $10 primitive camping, but I did not see it and in the office where you pay (by machine) all I saw were $30 flat rate for all sites. So it’s quite expensive to tent camp here. No showers, but a relatively clean bathroom. 

Adequate 

Pros: This campground has it all- great creek, incredible hiking up and over into Hot Springs, nearby disc golf course that is the best we have seen, close to all the attractions, level asphalt pads, water and power (and i think also sewer?) privacy between sites (trees, bushes) great fire pit/with cooking grate AND a grill at our site (25 is awesome), bath house with sinks and toilets ONLY

Cons: you can’t stay forever, no showers

Pro tip: eat at Superior! Great brewery/restaurant, friendly staff!

So great we’ve taken the 8-hours-one-way drive twice in 6 weeks!

With cities basically closing, and no work to go to... My best friend in life, and our dogs decided to live out the chaos in nature, away from mass society. We have a nice 27ft rv. So boondocking and dispersed can get tricky sometimes. But we make it work! We pulled into this campground by chance. Because it was the closest to us. The Hiking right here is amazing for day hiking with the family. Beautiful creek flowing directly behind our camper made for great soothing sleep with the windows open! Would definitely recommend this area for any campers looking to just enjoy it! 

Corona Nature Trip Day 1

Small quiet camp. Grassy and shaded along a creek. First come system. No reservations. Old but clean facilities. Access to hiking trails from the camp area. Good location to explore the town from. Dogs welcome. 

Quiet

Convenient location. I stayed here in a 30’ Class C motorhome. It’s first come, first serve RV/tent site campground sites and you pay at an automatic kiosk. $39/night unless you get the senior discount. Lots
of road noise from the Gulpha Gorge Road. Lots of 18-wheelers and commercial vehicles use it to cut through to and from Hwy 7 to Hwy 270. Lots of traffic day and night. You don’t notice it inside but you can really hear it outside and especially if you’re in a tent. I recommend a hike up to Goat Rock. Lots of trails start right past the amphitheater. You can hike up to the mountain tower or downtown. The interior sites can be tight and there is no bathhouse but the creek sites are spacious and very nice. The picnic area is clean and nice too. One caveat lots of foot traffic here. People (non campers) just walk through your campsite. This area also sees a lot of day use traffic. All in all though I really like it and it’s a great place to make your base camp especially if you enjoy hiking. 

Beautiful campground with a creek running right through it

quiet, beautiful, peaceful, big sights you will love this campground 

favorite spot

Beautiful, clean, great location. Camped here in Feb 2020, right on the river. Full hookups, mostly back-in but some pull throughs. Paved, level. Tent sites, too. Clean bathrooms, little camp store. Close to town. Would camp again. 

Beautiful, clean, great location

I have always loved this campground. We used to come here when I was a kid and I love exploring in the creek. Hiking trails are accessible from the campground as well. There is heavy day use traffic and lots of road noise from the highway, but you are very close to all the main attractions. The drawback is that they don’t accept reservations and that makes it tough for me to come here because of how far the drive is with no guarantee. Water &amp; Electric hook ups. 

Gorgeous Creek

Stayed here for a night in August 2020. I can’t remember what site we stayed in but each campsite is reserved on a “first come, first served” basis. You can get there and pick an available site at 11Am and must reserve it in the campground office. The camp hosts are very nice! Bathrooms are cleaned and nicely spaced but no showers. Our campsite had plenty of room for both of our tents and 2 hammocks for daytime naps:) Cell reception with Verizon wasn’t an issue. We did have a difficult time finding fire wood as no store nearby sold any. Camp hosts didn’t have any either so come prepared. There are picnic tables, a grill, and fire rings at each site. Even though we had picked a campsite closer to a bathroom, we still ended up having to walk a bit to another since they periodically closed  rest areas for the day to clean. A little annoying when you don’t want to walk but I appreciate them taking all precautions during a pandemic. There’s trails nearby that take you to downtown Hot Springs so we didn’t have to drive. I’d definitely come back here. It was very relaxing!

Quiet By The River

No reservations available &amp; no shower house which are a bummer. 

However, we got in just in time before a rush of other RVs. Picked site 41 &amp; it’s perfect. Full hook up, perfect trees for lights, and a grill. No fire pit ring which is a bummer though. 

The campground is beautiful. Hiked up the gorge today &amp; was not disappointed. 

I can’t imagine what this place is like when the weather is warmer...I’m sure it’s a packed mess, so happy we got to experience it in cooler temps.

Unfortunately though the spring bath houses are closed Jan 25- Feb 4 for park service maintenance. Bummer! 

So pretty but reservations a bummer

I would give it a 4-star rating for location but personally I don't like crowded, busy, noisy campgrounds by a major road.
A tip: all sites are first-come-first-serve and you must use a machine and credit ir debit card to buy the spot. Arrive between 9 AM and 10 AM to find a spot, snag it, then, after 12, the machine will let you buy the ticket.

The sites come with water, electric, a grill, and restrooms with running water. No showers and no fire pits though although some had fires going anyway.  

The campground is walking distance from all the beautiful trails that wind up and down the nearby hills. You can spend days exploring them.

As I said, the downside is how there are many day trip visitors, cars driving around looking for spots, and mist sites are closer to each other than I like although you can find a couple sites that feel more private if you are lucky.

I was lucky to have friendly and interesting neighbors there.  The park looks small but some if the trails go on for up to 12 miles that I saw. 
There is a mountain tower worth paying to visit for a full panoramic view of the whole area.  



Ideal Location. Decent Amenities. Busy

Being a first come, we showed up early and got a great shaded site on the creek.  The sites are tight,  but clean.  No showers were available.   We hiked to Hot Springs and to the Tower from the camoground.

Site by the creek

Beautiful brook side campgrounds right on the Hot Springs national park. Camp sights  are first come first serve at noon (find an empty sight, claim/park, and pay at the front) and all drive up standard sights. Good for tenting, hammocks, or RV. All sights have power/water/septic, fire pit, and picnic table. Connects to the park trails so it’s great for hiking. Can easily go up the mountain or walk into town. Has bathrooms, but no showers.

Happy Camping 

Great location, noisy from all the traffic on the road lots of commercial vehicle use on a 2-lane road. Don’t notice inside an RV if you’re running your a/c but hard to ignore if you’re outdoors or in a tent. Some sites are tight and you’re wedged in to small spaces, some larger and more spread out. Great location to explore downtown, bathhouse row, and the hiking trails in the Hot Springs National Park. There are bathrooms with flush toilets and sinks with running water but no showers. I personally like the first come, first serve, no reservation policy because it makes it so much more fair to get a campsite. I hope they keep the policy in place. Automated check in system inside a small building. Campground hosts or the rangers will come by later and check your tickets on the posts if no one is in the office when you pay. No need to hang around your campsite just out the paper on the post and go on with your life. Great location. Hope to stay again when I am in the area. 



Great location, mixed bag experience 

It was kept generally clean, the plots are close together but it wasn't filled when I was there so it worked out!

Good campground

Clean and well maintained. Close to town and hiking trails. Some sites are not very level. Nice creek running through one side of camp. Full hook ups lots of shade trees. Good for a few days and time to move on. 

Close to town

This park has about 40 spaces with full hookups for $30/night. Big rigs and tents are acceptable. There are no reservations, and checkout time is noon, so if you want to stay here, you should get here about noon and look for someone who is leaving. The park fills back up every day. Find a spot, pull in, and pay at 12:15 at a kiosk. They will come by and verify that you have paid between 1 and 2. There are bathrooms, but no showers.

Nice National Park - No Reservations 

I loved camping right near the river but did not love the traffic noise at night. The campsites are pretty close together but the bacon it’s is gorgeous and well kept.

Great campground, poor location

I had a wonderful time. The campground is so pretty. Full hookups, water, electricity and sewer. I am in an RV but there’s a lot of noise from the road if you are in a tent. Also there isn’t a bathhouse on site so you can’t take a shower there. I love how easy it is to access downtown and bathhouse row from the campground. I hiked downtown using the trail system that is just across the stone walkway next to the amphitheater. You just go across the creek and can go left to the downtown area or up to the Mountain Tower or to the right to access the Sunset Trail. You can hike up to the Mountain tower or Goat Rock, down the Sunset Trail or the Oerchtel Trail to go downtown. Some of the campsites are right on the creek. It’s just a beautiful place to visit. They’ve recently moved to a reservation system through Recreation.gov 

Beautiful campground convenient location 

Loving my stay here. This is a beautiful campground, my site is on the creek and I love to hike and the national park trails are so  convenient to try campground. Will definitely be back. 


Beautiful campground , beautiful location , convenient 

Paved throughout.  Full hookups.  And in a National Park Campground.  I got my reservation within 3 days of staying there.  You must reserve and I did see many spots not being used although reserved.  A wonderful creek runs next to campground. Trails to walk.  There is NO internet.  But cell signal was good for AT&amp;T.  

Wilderness here

I stayed at two different sites for two separate nights in a tent. Both of these sites had minimal space for tent camping and barely fit my tent, but it works. However, it was beautiful because I could sit and look/listen to the creek. The bathrooms were well maintained, landmarks for sites were obvious, and the volunteers that work there were incredibly helpful and nice. 

Great site

We wanted to come to Hot Springs but knew that the sites at Gulpha Gorge would be small, so were expecting to be disappointed—we’ve been pleasantly surprised. Would have loved to get a site on the creek, but they’re popular and we planned the trip on short notice. The hosts are super friendly, bathrooms are spotless, and the campground is well maintained. Definitely recommend if you’re in the area. 

Better than expected!! 

Good location (close to city and access to the the NP trail directly from the campground).  Site could be more private but the campground is well maintained.

Hook up - no shower - perfect location

This is a well maintained campground that is very close to town. This was 95% full of RVs and only 5% tent campers. If you are an RVer this would be a 5 star campground but as a Tent camper it is only a 3 star. As a tent camper the lack of campground showers was minus one star. They also had one of the two bathrooms permanently closed so there was only one bathroom available for the entire campground. The other is tent campers run into when we stay at an RV campground is excessive noise and light pollution. All of the RVs kept their outside LED lights on all night which made the whole campground bright as daylight. Which made it very bright and hard to sleep in a tent. Also all of the RV AC units constantly running all night really cut back on the peace and quiet camping experience minus second star. If they made it a dark sky campground where RVers were encouraged to turn off outside light when quiet hours started that would make a huge difference. Site 27 was a nice site that backed to the creek but like most of the site is catering to RVer so there was no area to set up a tent other than on the pavement. 

3 star for tents 5 star for RVs

Great little NP campground. Friendly staff, close to trails and to the bath houses.

Great little campground 

A little close to a busy road, but if you have a creek spot you can hear the water flowing! Trails nearby and showerless bathrooms in the campground. We showered at a nearby KOA for about $7 per shower.

Scenic

National Park campground, sites along the creek are really nice. Wished they would have sold firewood as we couldn’t find any anywhere in town and had to scavenge. Very quiet despite being totally full with RVs.