beautiful spot to camp
this is a beautiful spot to cam on a nice creek in the mountains. no showers all sites have sewer. first come first serve only. no reservations.
Like camping in a city park
We enjoyed the one night we spent in this campground, but it isn't much of a wilderness experience. It's much more like camping in a city park, streetlights and all. Still, it's very close to the old bath houses that make this National Park interesting. I recommend a visit if you're in the area.
Month of VisitApril
Soak & springs!
Hot springs in AR with lots of history and fantastic hiking trails. The hot springs are in bathhouses, not outdoor pools. I personally prefer the pools found elsewhere, but these are very nice and important to preserve the history of the area. Campground is simple but modern.
Yay: so many trails of all distances and difficulties, shady campground.
Nay: close to town, which can be good or annoying depending on your mood. Sites are not very private, but they are fine.
Surprise: awesome fountains with the spring water and you can take as much as you want!
Adequate urban national park camping, underwhelming scenery
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)
Month of VisitFebruary
OK
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.
Month of VisitNovember
Hot is right!
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 water
the water is hotter then you think it is
Very nice campsites
I'm giving four stars just because the campsites were nice and there were a few trails that were okay to hike. In my quest to visit every national park I've come to expect amazing hikes and scenic views and lots of nature. Unfortunately, Hot Springs National Park is primarily a historical site. I was not at all interested in Bath Row and it seems to be the primary feature of this park. If you're looking for something akin to RMNP or even Mammoth Caves, this probably isn't your idea of a good time. If you ARE looking for some history featuring natural hot springs, definitely stop by.
Serve its purpose
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.
Expected more
Typical national park facilities, but I just expected Hot Springs national park to be cooler than it was. It doesn't live up to the grandeur that other NPs make you expect.
Love this place
Love it here so much, sadly it is becoming way too popular
BYOS...
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.
Good KOA
I'm not one to stay at KOAs but this one was a really good experience. The host was very pleasant and everything was kept very clean. Couldn't ask for a better place.
O.K
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.
Hot Springs National Park's only campground
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.
Basic, well maintained and close to Hot Springs
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.
