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Travel
to Arkansas
Arkansas is a beautiful land of mountains and
valleys, thick forests and fertile plains. Northwest Arkansas is part of the
Ozark Plateau including the Boston Mountains, to the south are the Ouachita
Mountains and these regions are divided by the Arkansas River; the southern and
eastern parts of Arkansas are called the Lowlands. |
Arkansas Hotels in...
Eureka Springs |
Fayetteville |
Fort Smith |
Jonesboro |
Little Rock |
Texarkana
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2010 Hot Springs National Park Commemorative
This is the 1st coin of the America the Beautiful - 5oz
Silver Bullion Program, and is nearly an exact replica of the Hot Springs
National Park Quarter Dollar newly released in 2010! |
Hot Springs
Hot Springs National Park was first
established as a national site on April 20, 1832, to conserve the water from
the 47 springs that emerge from Hot Springs Mountain and to ensure that water
was made available for drinking and therapy. It is one of the smallest national
parks in the country, but one of the most accessible and unique.
Nicknamed “The American Spa,” people have used the hot spring
water in therapeutic baths for more than two hundred years to treat rheumatism
and other ailments. The park includes Bathhouse Row, itself a National Historic
Landmark District. This grand collection of bathhouses is a beautiful example
of late 19th century Gilded Age architecture. One of these buildings, the
Fordyce Bathhouse, now serves as the park's visitors center.
Beyond the
springs, the park also contains 26 miles of hiking trails, picnic areas and
campsites in the surrounding Ouachita Mountain.
Sight-seeing
opportunities await you at nearby Hot Springs a unique city that is built in a
circle around Hot Springs National Park (known for its mineral springs)
providing an excellent area for hiking and horseback riding.
Enjoy the
peace and tranquility of beautiful Lake Hamilton and the various attractions
available in Hot Springs National Park with 4,800 acres for hiking and
horseback riding within a short drive. You can enjoy fishing and boating on
beautiful Lake Hamilton or explore other area attractions including the crystal
mines bath house row, the Mid-America Center Museum, the Arkansas Alligator
Farm, and Oaklawn Race Track that has races from February through mid-April.
For golfers there is an 18- hole course only minutes away.
Magic Springs and Crystal Falls
theme park is within 30 minutes.
The beauty of the Ouachita Mountains
and Hot Springs National Park surrounds you at
The
Wharf. Located along the shores of Lake Hamilton this luxurious retreat
offers you not only a scenic setting but also activities and amenities catering
to all your vacation needs. In addition to a number of water activities the
resort offers tennis courts an outdoor pool a playground and a picnic
area.
Los
Lagos at Hot Springs Village is the perfect four-season resort for your
vacation. On-site activities include tennis badminton volleyball horseshoes and
an outdoor pool. The village features six 18-hole golf courses two outdoor
pools an indoor pool tennis and a playground and picnic area.
SunBay Resort is set on the shores of Lake
Hamilton in Hot Springs. This southern retreat offers you both quiet seclusion
and a full line of recreational facilities. Fitness enthusiasts will rave about
the resort's health club that features Nautilus equipment an indoor pool two
racquetball courts saunas and whirlpools. Outdoors there are two pools and four
lighted tennis courts.
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The Crater of Diamonds State Park
The
Crater of
Diamonds State Park is located near Murfreesboro in Pike County. It is a
911 acre state park that is situated over an eroded lamproite volcanic pipe,
and the park is open to the general public. The name of the park refers to the
fact that over 25,000 diamonds have been found in the crater since it became a
state park, and visitors are actually allowed to keep any gemstone that they
find regardless of its value.
The first diamond ever found
in the Crater of Diamonds State Park was in 1906, by a man named John
Huddleston who owned the property. Then between the years of 1952-1972 the
crater was a privately owned tourist attraction, and then between the years
1964-1968 Roscoe Johnston leased 49 acres of diamond bearing land adjacent to
the crater and operated it as a tourist attraction.
There have been
thousands of diamonds found in the Crater of Diamonds State Park over time but
a few that are especially notable. Diamonds of all colors and shapes can be
found at this state park, but the three most common colors are white, brown and
yellow. Along with the diamond search area located in Crater of Diamonds State
Park, the park also offers hundreds of acres of natural forest featuring a
diversity of flora and fauna and offering visitors a ton of interesting things
to do in the area.
The park even offers other activities such as
fishing, and bank fishing for largemouth bass, catfish and bream on the Little
Missouri River can be lots of fun for adults and children alike. Access to the
river is also available at Terrell Access which is a public boat launching ramp
across from the park. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission regularly stock the
river with trout over the winter months although you are still able to fish for
trout throughout the rest of the year as well.
Out of all the state
parks in the world this is definitely one of the most fun and enjoyable to
visit, especially for the kids who get to dig around and see what they can come
up with, the best part of all being that they actually get to keep whatever it
is that they do find. It makes for a great stop-off for any family vacation,
and the Crater of Diamonds State Park is definitely one place that you will all
remember.
The Arkansas Singles Connection, a member of the largest
and most successful singles dating site on the web, has thousands of active
listings of eligible single men and women across Arkansas and throughout the
United States.
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