26 Aug 2010 Traveling for wellness

Posted at 7:10 AMh in Travel by

Hot Springs is recognized worldwide as just such a destination. Known for its legendary healing waters, people have been traveling to Hot Springs for wellness purposes for centuries.

Native Americans came to the “Valley of the Vapors” as a place for rejuvenation. Quapaws, Caddos and Osage attributed therapeutic properties to the hot spring water, considering it neutral ground, where all tribes could bathe in peace.

Hot Springs opened its first bathhouse in 1830. In 1832, Congress set aside the natural hot springs site as a federal reservation, making Hot Springs National Park a federally protected area in the national park system.

Developed as a European style spa, Hot Springs experienced a boom during the 1920s when people from all over the world sought relief from various health problems by drinking or bathing in the hot mineral water.

A visit to Hot Springs today offers the opportunity to relax and bathe tensions away at any of the city’s spa salons. Also, the National Park Service operates the faithfully-restored historic Fordyce Bathhouse as a museum and visitors center on Bathhouse Row.