Arkansas National Parks

About the Arkansas National Parks

Arkansas is home to one national park: Hot Springs National Park. Tap a park to check it off, drop a pin on the map, and track your progress — your checklist here counts toward the full National Park Tracker of every US national park. Each park links to its own guide with current hours, entrance fees, alerts, campgrounds, and things to do.

Hot Springs: Arkansas's National Park

Arkansas's one national park is also one of America's most unusual. Hot Springs National Park protects 47 thermal springs that emerge from the base of Hot Springs Mountain at about 143°F — water that fell as rain roughly 4,000 years ago and slowly heated deep underground before rising back to the surface. The federal government set the springs aside as Hot Springs Reservation in 1832, four decades before Yellowstone, which is why the park calls itself the oldest area in the national park system. It became a full national park in 1921.

It's also the smallest national park — about 5,550 acres — and the only one wrapped around a downtown. Bathhouse Row, a National Historic Landmark District of eight grand early-1900s bathhouses, sits right on Central Avenue: the restored Fordyce Bathhouse serves as the park visitor center, and you can still take a traditional thermal bath at the Buckstaff or a modern one at the Quapaw. Behind the row, the brick-paved Grand Promenade climbs past open springs, and about 26 miles of trails lace the surrounding mountains. There's no entrance fee, and Gulpha Gorge Campground keeps you a short drive from the springs.

Beyond the Park: Other National Park Sites in Arkansas

If you're searching for national parks in Arkansas, the National Park Service actually runs several other sites across the state worth adding to a trip:

• Buffalo National River — America's first national river (1972), 135 free-flowing miles of bluffs, gravel bars and float trips through the Ozarks.
• Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site — where the 1957 desegregation crisis unfolded; the school is still in use today.
• Pea Ridge National Military Park — the 1862 Civil War battlefield that helped decide control of Missouri.
• Fort Smith National Historic Site — frontier fort and courthouse on the edge of Indian Territory.
• Arkansas Post National Memorial — site of the first permanent European settlement in the lower Mississippi River valley.
• President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home — the 42nd president's first home in Hope.

Only Hot Springs counts toward your national park checklist — but the Buffalo alone is worth the drive.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many national parks are in Arkansas?

Arkansas has 1 national park: Hot Springs National Park.

How do I track the Arkansas national parks I've visited?

Tap a pin on the map or a park's photo to check it off. It counts toward your progress — both here and on the full National Park Tracker of all US national parks.

Can I download or share my Arkansas parks map?

Yes. "Download Your Map" saves a personalized image of the parks you've checked off — ready to post so friends can compare.

National Parks in Other States

Alaska (8) American Samoa (1) Arizona (3) California (9) Colorado (4) Florida (3) Hawaii (2) Idaho (1) Indiana (1) Kentucky (1) Maine (1) Michigan (1) Minnesota (1) Missouri (1) Montana (2) Nevada (1) New Mexico (2) North Carolina (1) North Dakota (1) Ohio (1) Oregon (1) South Carolina (1) South Dakota (2) Tennessee (1) Texas (2) Utah (5) Virgin Islands (1) Virginia (1) Washington (3) West Virginia (1) Wyoming (2)

Or see them all at once on the US National Park Tracker — the interactive checklist and map of every national park.