Welcome to the new and improved Park of the Week Newsletter for April 25, 2024. After some amazing feedback, our newsletter is getting a refresh. Still the same information, but now easier to read and with weekly bonus material from our site. Enjoy!
This week’s park was the first land set aside for recreation by the US federal government, long before the concept of a national park had been invented.
Hot Springs National Park
Location
Hot Springs, Arkansas, United States
Claim to fame
Created by an act of Congress in 1832, Hot Springs National Park was set aside as a recreational space years before the idea of national parks was invented. The hot springs here are ancient, and the park has a rich cultural heritage as the “American Spa” of the 20th century.
Reason to visit
This US national park features 26 miles of forested hiking trails and natural scenery, in addition to its historic buildings and promenade. And visitors can still soak in the natural hot springs that have been soothing patrons for centuries.
Wild Fact
After the Civil War and until the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the bathhouses in Hot Springs National Park were racially segregated. Bathhouses were built specifically for African Americans, including the Woodmen of the Union Building, which was also a hospital and the only healthcare facility for Blacks in the city. Despite the fact that they couldn’t patron other bathhouses, most bathhouse workers were African American.
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