Where can you go to escape the heat this summer? When you stay at Tiffany’s B&B, we’ll help you find all the cool things to do nearby! One of the advantages to staying in a traditional bed and breakfast is that your innkeepers are locals who who know all about the area, as well as some tips and tricks that an average tour site won’t tell you. Here’s our top 10 list:
- Get a couples massage: our Massage Package includes a couples massage at Nuyu Rejuvenation Spa on the banks of Lake Hamilton, as well as a $50 dinner voucher to Via Roma, one of Hot Springs’ most popular Italian restaurants.
- Fordyce Bathhouse: Hot Springs National Park is all about hot water, but the historic Fordyce Bathhouse is equipped with modern air conditioning! Tour the park visitor center to learn why the hot springs were protected way back in 1832, and how they were used for healing and relaxation. While there, be sure to look up at the stained glass window of ‘Neptune’s Daughter’. LOCAL TIP: Park in the free parking garage on Exchange Street. It is directly across the street from Bathhouse Row, AND it’s covered to keep your car cool!
- The Gangster Museum of America: after you’ve explored the Fordyce Bathhouse, walk across the street to learn the OTHER side of Hot Springs’ history! Experience Hot Springs from the 1920s to the 1940’s, when gangsters such as Al Capone and Lucky Luciano hid out while enjoying nightclubs, casinos, horse racing, and “prohibition” – all while local lawmen looked the other way!
- The History of Hot Springs Gambling Museum: now that you’ve learned about the gangsters of Hot Springs, discover more about the illegal gambling era of Hot Springs, which lasted well into the 1960’s. (Open Fridays & Saturdays only – free admission)
- Tiny Town: one of our favorite attractions! A miniature town & train set created over 75 years by the Moshinskie family. Other than the trains and cars, most of the pieces were made out of household scraps and parts. There are hand-carved action figures, and a plane that flies overhead. You have to “see it to believe it”!
- Have an ice cold beer or root beer – brewed with thermal water! The Superior Bathhouse Brewery is the only brewery in a national park, and the only brewery in the world to use thermal water. Enjoy lunch or take a growler to go!
- Charlton Recreation Area: located in the Ouachita National Forest about 20 miles west of Hot Springs. You can picnic, hike, fish or swim along Walnut Creek, a cold spring-fed stream. The swimming area is formed by a historic stone dam built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in 1935. Even during the hottest months of summer, you’ll find some of the coldest water in this swimming hole.
- DeGray Lake Beaches: our favorites are Shouse Ford and Caddo Bend. Shouse Ford is only 8 miles from Tiffany’s and is rarely crowded. There is a shaded picnic area nearby that offers great bird watching opportunities (a scissortail flycatcher seems to make its home there every year). Caddo Bend is farther south on the lake, within DeGray Lake State Park. It is just past the lodge, and offers more sand beaches, but less shade. It’s also near the state park marina, golf and disc golf courses, and the horse riding stables.
- Float the river: cool off in the Caddo River, just north of DeGray Lake. Rent a canoe, tube, or kayak, and float through the beautiful Ouachita Mountains. There are several outfitters in the area, and we’ll be happy to help you choose one.
- Take a nap in our air conditioned rooms: a relaxing vacation improves emotional and physical health, and “napping can help you feel a little more energetic, alert and relaxed,” says psychologist and behavioral sleep disorder specialist Michelle Drerup, PsyD. All 3 guest rooms in our country inn near Hot Springs, AR, are furnished with oh, so comfy beds and luxurious linens, so enjoy a quick catnap. You’ll wake refreshed & ready to explore more of the cool things our area has to offer!
