Touted as the nation's health resort, Hot Springs offered a relaxing and picturesque environment to nineteenth-century Americans who believed the famous hot and soothing mineral baths could heal most ailments, especially arthritis and rheumatism. Word eventually spread of the springs' healing properties, and Hot Springs became increasingly popular. Bathhouses became the number one industry in Hot Springs, and many of those early bathhouses are still intact in the Historic Downtown area known as Bathhouse Row.

In addition to being the South's most celebrated resort destination for decades, over the years Hot Springs began to provide more than just bathhouses to visitors. Vaudeville theaters, elegant hotels and shops of all kinds—many of which still stand today—appeared in the downtown area. A few notable places that are still open for business are the Arlington Hotel, the Malco Theater (now known as the Maxwell Blade Theater of Magic) and what was once called the Southern Club, which now houses the Josephine Tussuad Wax Museum.

But, if mineral baths and historic Architecture don’t pique your interest, there are plenty of opportunities to spend time in the great outdoors in Hot Springs. The surrounding Ouachita Mountains and Diamond Lakes offer ample fishing, hiking, horseback riding and golfing.