Fifty miles southwest of Little Rock, the spa town of HOT SPRINGS nestles in the heavily forested Zig Zag Mountains on the eastern flank of the Ouachitas. Its thermal waters have attracted visitors since Native Americans used the area as a neutral zone to settle disputes. Early settlers fashioned a crude resort out of the wilderness, and after the railroads arrived in 1875 it became a European-style spa. During the Twenties and Thirties, the mayor reputedly ran a gambling syndicate worth $30 million per annum, and punters included Al Capone and Bugsy Malone. However, Hot Springs's popularity waned when new cures for arthritis appeared during the Fifties, and all but one of the bathhouses closed down. There was a surge of interest after Clinton's election - he lived here between 1953 and 1964 - and the visitor center at Central Avenue and Court Street (tel 501/321-2277) provides a glossy leaflet marking his favorite haunts.

Downtown Hot Springs is crammed into a looping wooded valley, barely wide enough to accommodate Central Avenue. Eight magnificent buildings here, behind a lush display of magnolia trees, elms and hedgerows, make up Bathhouse Row. Between 1915 and 1962, the grandest of them all was the Fordyce Bathhouse , at the 300 block of Central, which reopened in 1989 as the visitor center for HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK - the only national park to fall within city limits. The interior of the Fordyce is a strange mixture of the elegant and the obsolete; the heavy use of marble, mosaic-tile floors and the stained-glass ceiling of the Sun Room lend it a decadent feel (daily 9am-5pm; free; tel 501/624-3383).

It's still possible to sample the old-time luxury of Hot Springs by taking a bath . The only establishment on Bathhouse Row still open for business is the Buckstaff, where a thermal mineral bath costs $14 (Mon-Fri 7-11.45am & 1.30-3pm, Sat 7-11.45am; tel 501/623-2308). Full bathing facilities are also available at several hotels. To taste the water, which lacks the strong sulphuric taste often associated with thermal springs, fill up a container at the drinking fountain at Central and Reserve.

To the rear of the Fordyce, two small springs have been left open for viewing. The Grand Promenade from here is a half-mile red-and-yellow-brick walkway overlooking downtown. Trails of various lengths and severity lead up the steep slopes of Hot Springs Mountain . To reach the summit, take a short drive or any of several different trails, including a testing two-and-a-half-mile hike through dense woods of oak, hickory and short-leafed pine. The observation decks of Mountain Tower at the top offer superb views of the town, the Ouachitas and surrounding lakes (daily summer 9am-9pm; times vary in winter and also toward the end of summer; $5; tel 501/623-6035).

Hot Springs

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