Hot Springs National Park was established to protect & preserve geothermal water for public use as a health resort & the only federally owned thermal springs spa. Hot Springs National Park is the only national park that protects a unique combination of lithology, geologic structure and water sources that produce the only non-volcanic geothermal springs of such a high quality (e.g., temperature, taste, color, and odor) in the United States. This national park, first designated as a reservation by Congress in 1832, is the only unit of the National Park Service mandated to give away its primary natural resource, the geothermal water, to the general public in both an unending and unaltered state. Bathhouse Row within the park contains the largest collection of early 20th century bathhouses in the country.
Start from the overlook on North Mountain. Take the short hike below the overlook and stay right, noting novaculite stones strewn along the trail. The stone bars that cross the trail to prevent erosion are a trip hazard, so be careful. Below the second curve, the lower side of the trail opens into flowery glades that offer great vistas of Indian Mountain and east Hot Springs. The trail then becomes uneven and rocky. After another several hundred feet you will pass beneath huge novaculite boulders and Goat Rock Overlook forty feet above. A trail sign indicates the stairway to the overlook. Goat Rock Trail (1.1 mi.) Gulpha Gorge Trail (0.8 mi.) Reserve Trail (0.3 mile) A spur leading from Reserve Street beyond park law enforcement headquarters, this brief climb to the intersection of the Dead Chief Trail offers a short cut to Gulpha Gorge Campground. Originally built in 1926 as the beginning of the Dead Chief Trail, the name derives from the park’s designation as a reservation in 1832.
Stone steps rise 240 feet to the summit, with spectacular views of Indian Mountain. Return down the stairs to Goat Rock Trail and take a right to continue on the trail, which descends in a serpentine path to the Gulpha Gorge Trail junction. Here you may take the left path to Gulpha Gorge Campground (0.8 miles) or the right path up the mountain via Gulpha Gorge Trail.
📸 National Park Service, Goat Rock Trail, @thorsenmark
