Hot Springs Area Hiking: September

Join in Exploring new parts of Hot Springs and nearby hiking trails! Historic old spa town as a base for camping or hotelling and joint hiking at the Hot Springs National Park and beyond!

We'll camp from Thursday through Tuesday morning and have a daily hike scheduled Friday/Saturday/Sunday/Monday. Thursday most likely for set-up & exploring Hot Springs itself.

The campground is oriented to campers, RVs, etc. For tenters like myself, I'd recommend only two tents and cars per site. See below for further thoughts. My attendee limit is just for the camping on my site; all the events are open and anyone who want to get their own sites or local accommodations welcome. As of posting (6/3), there are plenty of sites available.

Each hike will be posted as it's own Meetup, too, so just sign up for those if you are staying locally. Feel free to join in any campground group activities and/or hang out as well!

Quick Overview:
Thursday: arrival, set-up, explore
Friday: hike south half of Sunset Loop
Saturday: hike Lake Catharine trails
Sunday: hike Lake Ouachita portion
Monday: Northwoods Multi-use Southwest portion

I will have one site at Gulpha Gorge that officially fits 2 cars (or 1 car, 1 small camper), 1-2 tents, and 2-4 people if sharing tents. More sites are available depending on reservations site. There is excess parking and day use parking for those of you just hiking. See map in photos.

Federal site: *Recreation.gov.* Fairly easy to use app, too.
Arkansas site: *Arkansasstateparks.com*

None of the sites are large or particularly private at Gulpha Gorge.

You may consider camping at the two nearby AR state (Lake Catharine and Lake Ouachita) parks as well. Two chain hotels are just around the corner,too. Red Roof Inn Hot Springs and the Rodeway Inn Hot Springs National Park Area also have trail access.

Campground Specs:
Each of the 44 sites has both 30 and 50 amp power, water and sewer hook ups as well as paved parking. The facility boasts three separate restroom facilities as well as a day use area to enjoy a picnic. Sites have a picnic table, fire rings and/or grills. One bathroom has a shower facility for site holders only; one shower per gender.

Location:
Gulpha Gorge Campground is off US Hwy 70B on the east side of Hot Springs. For GPS directions, the physical address is 305 Gorge Road, Hot Springs AR 71901

Blurb:
"Sit back and relax to the sounds of adjacent Gulpha Gorge Creek under the canopy of towering trees while being serenaded by the local winged inhabitants and you just may forget you are so close to downtown Hot Springs National Park.

Enjoy a stunning hike to Bathhouse Row with mountain-top views along the way.

Dip your toes in Gulpha Gorge Creek or stretch out on the cool grass to enjoy the breeze while planning a visit to one of the stunning spas on historic Bathhouse Row."

I will be driving directly, so carpooling or caravaning with me possible. Contact me directly or post in comments if you are interested and to see if anyone else is too.

Open to suggestions for non-hiking activities, too, so let me know your ideas !

Preparations:
For fitness: Be sure you are ready for some Ozark Mountain hiking! Hillier than flatlanders like us Woodlands folks are used to. I recommend elevation and leg training for sure, plus good hiking shoes or boots! Trails are mostly moderate with some easy and some harder sections. Let me know if you have any special concerns and we accommodate as best we can!

I will have my portable kayak for some light kayaking if possible at the two lake parks; bring yours if you'd like to try it out. I'm a beginner, so don't expect anything crazy!

For supplies, Hot Springs has anything you would find in a small city I.e. grocery stores and discount stores like WalMart, so re-supplying ice etc. as easy as it gets.