A road trip to Hot Springs National Park and Mammoth Cave National Park was a perfect way to spend our Spring Break.
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For once, Spring Break where my nephews go to school and where my boys go to school lined up on the same week. We decided to plan a trip for the ten of us and wanted to go somewhere that we could all drive to, hit a new state, and a new national park. After looking at maps, we settled on Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.
From our house, it was about a 13-hour drive to Mammoth Cave National Park and the rental home we got in Bee Spring, Kentucky. Due to my mom’s event schedule, they weren’t able to get there until Sunday evening. When Justin and I looked at the map, we realized we would drive straight through Hot Springs, Arkansas.
We hadn’t been to Hot Springs National Park or Arkansas yet with the boys, so we decided to leave right after school on Friday to drive there, stay the night, go to the national park on Saturday, stay in Arkansas again, then drive on Sunday to Kentucky. It turned into a Mammoth Hot Springs road trip for the four of us.
Getting There
Hot Springs National Park is in western central Arkansas, about 50 miles southwest of Little Rock. The closest airport is the one in Little Rock, which is about an hour’s drive from the park area. Mammoth Cave National Park is in western Kentucky with the nearest airport in Louisville, about 90 miles from the park. No matter which park you decide to start with, you’ll need a rental car if you aren’t driving there.
Best Time to Go
Hot Springs is best in the spring months of March and April and the fall months of August, September, and October. Mammoth Cave is suggested from November through March. So Spring Break, in the middle of March, was a great time to hit both parks. If you can only go in the summer with school schedules, just know it will be warmer outside and more crowded since that is the peak season for almost every National Park Service site.
Day One
Drive to Hot Springs, Arkansas
Check in to Baymont by Wyndham Hot Springs on the Lake
We arrived at the hotel around 10 PM. I called ahead to let them know we would be there that late. They had our keys ready when we got to the desk and we were able to go right up to the room. I wanted to make sure there would be someone available when we got to the hotel that late and make sure they didn’t forfeit our reservation thinking we were a no-show.
https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/baymont/hot-springs-arkansas/baymont-hot-springs/overview
Day One Map
Day Two
Breakfast at the Hotel
In the morning, even after a late drive, we still woke up in time to get ready and go to breakfast at the hotel. I like to stay in hotels with free breakfast to make things easier for us and save on the costs of the trip.
Drive to Hot Springs National Park
After breakfast, we drove about 15 minutes to get to the heart of Hot Springs and the National Park area. This park is different from any we’ve been to as it is in the middle of a bustling town. There’s no traditional entrance and no entrance fee charged.
Park at Exchange Street Parking Plaza
Since the park is in the middle of the town, we had to search up a parking lot as we usually park at the visitors center, but that isn’t an option here. We found the Exchange Street Parking Plaza on the map which was only a short walk to Bathhouse Row, which is the main attraction. There is no fee to park in this parking garage.
Hot Springs Visitor Center
The visitor center is in the Fordyce Bathhouse, but when we were there it was undergoing renovations so the visitor center and information desk were moved to the Ozark Bathhouse. The Ozark Bathhouse also features the park’s Artist-in-Residence Program with a gallery and other exhibits. After talking with the park rangers, getting our Passport Book stamp, picking up a Junior Ranger booklet, and visiting the park store, we were able to walk through the Bathhouse to see all of the artwork on display.
Walk along the Grand Promenade
After leaving the Ozark Bathhouse, we walked between the Fordyce Bathhouse and the Maurice Bathhouse to head back to the area with the hot water springs and take a hike along the Grand Promenade. This is one of the upper terraces behind Bathhouse Row. From here, we could see the back and tops of the historic buildings and the forest in the surrounding area. There are multiple entrances to the Grand Promenade Trail, this one happened to be the one with a fountain out front and steps up to the terrace. The north entrance on Fountain Street has a ramp for those who need it.
Near the southern end of the Grand Promenade, if you walk on the trail just east of the paver walkway, you will end at the old Army Navy Hospital. We later found out that this was here because of the hot springs. The water was healing, so injured soldiers would be brought to the area to soak in the hot spring water hot tub.
Touching the water in one of the springs
Hot water running down the hillside
Hot water running down the hillside
Our family at the hot spring
Hot water running into one of the pools
Moss growing in the mineral water
Grand Promenade
Park Entrance Sign
After walking along the Grand Promenade, I wanted to find the entrance sign that we saw on the way in to take a photo. There wasn’t anywhere to park near the sign without pulling over on the side of a busy highway, so we walked to the sign. It is located at the northeast corner of Reserve Street and Central Avenue outside of the National Park Service Administration Building and Park Headquarters.
Hot Springs National Park sign – Note: it is not at the visitor center but down the street
Taste the Spring Water
When we stopped at the entrance sign, there was a fountain next to it called Hot Springs Fountain. While you can’t taste the water in the fountain, there is a water bottle filling station next to it that is suitable for filling your water bottle with the hot spring water. The water is warm, but not so hot that it will burn your mouth. We filled one of our water bottles with water from here to “quaff the elixir” as they said in the heyday of the spa.
Lunch at Grateful Head Pizza Oven and Beer Garden
We started making our way back towards the parking area to make a pit stop for lunch at Greatful Head. It is right near the parking area, so it was an easy choice. We all ordered some pizza and a few appetizers to share. After a walk through the park, we were ready to put our feet up for a few minutes.
Ice Cream at Kilwins
Well, we didn’t end up going back to the vehicle right away. Tyler and Ryan wanted dessert, but there wasn’t anything on the menu at lunch that they wanted. We looked on the maps and found an ice cream shop on Central Avenue near the intersection with Fountain Street. On the way there, we stopped in a few of the shops that line the road before getting some ice cream for the boys.
Ice cream break
Hike Peak Trail to Shortcut Trail to Oertel Trail
After ice cream, we decided to hike a little bit on some of the Mountain Trails behind Bathhouse Row. We didn’t go all the way on the trails but caught the Peak Trail from Grand Promenade across the street from the ice cream shop. We walked up that until we got to Shortcut Trail and took that to the Oertel Trail. The Oertel Trail connects back with the Grand Promenade near the Fordyce Bathhouse again. It was a great way to see a little bit more of the area around these historic sites. If the weather was better, we may have continued on the trails. But it was misty, overcast, and foggy while we were there. It was our only day in Hot Springs, though, so we wanted to get a full days worth of time there.
Drive to Hot Springs Mountain Tower
Finally, we walked back to the parking plaza to get to our vehicle. After walking along the mountain trails for a while, we decided it would be neat to drive the scenic drive up to the Hot Springs Mountain Tower. Near the top of the drive is an area with picnic tables, the tower, and an overlook. Unfortunately, because of the weather and low visibility, we weren’t able to see anything at the overlook. For a fee, you can take an elevator 216 feet up the tower to the observation decks. Again, we decided to forgo this since we wouldn’t be able to see anything from the top.
Day Two Map
Day Three
Breakfast at the Hotel
In the morning, we got up and had the continental breakfast at the hotel again. For the next few days, we would be at a rental home, so no free breakfast that’s already prepared!
Drive to Bee Spring, Kentucky
We left the hotel fairly early in the morning since we had an 8-hour drive ahead of us to get to our rental home in Bee Spring, Kentucky. Bee Spring is on the northwest side of Mammoth Cave, about an hour from Bowling Green Kentucky. The drive was uneventful, just like I prefer.
Check in to our Rental Home
When we travel in groups with more than just the four of us, we try to book rental homes through VRBO instead of hotels. Usually, it’s more cost-friendly rather than booking three hotel rooms. It gives us more room to spread out, we get more privacy by having our own bedrooms, and we can prepare meals in the kitchen. We rented a five-bedroom home on the lake in Bee Spring to stay in for the next five nights.
Day Three Map
Day Four
Fishing on the Lake
On our first day in Kentucky, we had a lazy day after all of the driving and traveling the day before. There was a lake at the edge of the property that a group of us walked down to. My dad always brings fishing gear with him, so they went fishing on the lake. We didn’t catch anything, but it was worth a try.
Lake by the rental home
Lake by the rental home
Fishing in the lake
Grocery Store
The nearest grocery store to us was a Dollar General Market. While it’s not a full-sized grocery store, it had enough to get us by for the week. We put together a meal plan and a grocery list for our time in Kentucky then went to the store.
Day Four Map
Day Five
Lost River Cave
Lost River Cave was a last-minute addition to our itinerary. We didn’t have many plans, other than to go to Mammoth Cave on at least one of the days. My sister looked up tourist attractions in the area and found the different tours at Lose River Cave. We booked a boat tour through the cave. The cave entrance was about a quarter-mile walk down a paved pathway. Once there, the tour guide gave us a safety briefing before we put on life jackets and boarded the boat. There’s also a kids’ play place outside at Lost River Cave so we let the boys run around and burn some energy after our boat tour.
Waiting for our boat tour
Beth (Stephanie’s mom), Tyler, Ryan, Stephanie, and Justin in the tour boat
Ducking under a low section of the cave
Underground river
Inside the cave
Our group at the entrance sign
Boat Tour
The tour went through the Lost River inside the cave. At the beginning of the tour, the water level was high enough that we all had to duck down to get through to the rest of the boat ride. We learned about the history of the area, including the use of the Lost River Cave as a nightclub in the past.
Lunch at Double Dogs
When we were done at Lost River Cave, I pulled up the map and searched for nearby restaurants. We found a place called Double Dogs which has casual dining and a kids menu that worked for all four of the boys. They offer a variety of hot dogs and other pub-style food. The boys thought it was great that their kid’s meals were served in a dog bowl!
Lunch at Double Dogs
Day Five Map
Day Six
Mammoth Cave National Park Entrance Sign
Every National Park that we go to, we like to get a photo at the entrance sign. When we got to the sign for Mammoth Cave, there weren’t any other visitors around. I was able to set my phone up on the hood of the vehicle and set the timer to run into the photo with our whole group. Then we took photos of each family group for each other to have a better photo. The one of all ten of us is a bit crooked since it was the only way we could get the phone to stay there.
The four of us at the entrance sign for Mammoth Cave National Park
Our whole group at the entrance sign
Visitor Center and Gift Shop
Our first stop in the park was the visitor center and gift shop. The park ranger information station is in the middle of the building which is where we could check in for our tour and talk to the rangers. Then we went to the park store to get our Passport Book stamp and Junior Ranger books for the kids. Tyler and Ryan wanted to purchase a stuffed animal like they do at all of the parks, but we had them wait until after the tour so they wouldn’t have to carry them through the cave.
Our whole group before entering the cave
Historic Cave Tour
After finishing in the visitor center, we were directed to a covered pavilion area to wait for our tour to start. There are a variety of cave tours offered at the Mammoth site, so we had to listen to the rangers as they announced the tours to make sure we got with the right tour group. While waiting, we purchased some snacks from the camp store nearby. Another visitor said the snacks were decent but the actual food wasn’t the best. We opted for a few snacks, including a large salted pretzel that we shared.
When it was time for our Historic Tour through the caves, we joined the park ranger as he made some announcements about the rules in the cave. The Historic Cave Tour is a ranger-led program that takes about 2 hours and is about 2 miles of trail. It brings you to the most popular areas of the cave while learning about the history of the early explorers of the Mammoth Cave system. The trail starts with a quarter-mile walk down the steep paved walkway from the visitor center to the historic entrance. From there, a series of steps leads into the cave which starts in the Rotunda where you get your first feel of that cool cave air. The tour guide will explain different formations, discoveries, and the life forms that live in the cave. The tour takes you through a few low places where you may have to crouch and some tight spaces such as Fat Man’s Misery.
Entrance to the cave
Pathway in the cave
Our family inside the cave
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave
Mammoth Cave
Historic Cave Tour
Green River Ferry
On the way back to our rental home, we decided to take the north entrance so we could cross at the Green River Ferry. Tyler and Ryan have been on the large ferry in Galveston, Texas, but my nephews had never been on one. This is a small ferry boat that only fits two vehicles at once and we weren’t allowed to exit the vehicle.
Green River Ferry
Our two vehicles on the ferry boat
Day Six Map
Day Seven
Drive Home
Day seven was our day to drive home. Since we weren’t stopping anywhere along the drive home, we got up early and left the house by 4 AM. It’s not always fun getting up that early, but with all of the road trips we’ve done, we find it a great option for our family.
Day Seven Map
Itinerary Options
There are so many other things you can do at these parks and in the nearby communities. Try adding any of these options to your trip if it’s something your family would enjoy.
- Go horseback riding in Mammoth Cave National Park.
- Walk along the above-ground hiking trails in both Hot Springs and Mammoth Cave.
- Have lunch at the Green River Grill inside the park at Mammoth Cave.
- Take one of the other cave tours offered including the River Styx Tour or the Self-Guided Tour.
- Book a soak in one of the bathhouses at Hot Springs National Park. We didn’t do this because the boys weren’t old enough. Visitors must be 10 or older for the Buckstaff Bathhouse and 14 or older for the Quapaw Bathhouse.