Fordyce Bathhouse Visitors Center

This is my favorite free attraction in Hot Springs. The price is right while the building and history contained within it is phenomenal.
Visit the bottom floor, below the entrance level, to see the inner workings of the elevator and to get up close and personal with one of the famous hot springs.
Every other floor contains a perfect time capsule of what a visitor in the bathhouse’s heyday would have experienced. It’s beyond beautiful and a great way to spend an hour or more. Tours are self-​guided so there is no rush.

The Fordyce Bathhouse is become the National Park Service Welcome Center. This bath house become a museum and receive a lot of visitor for Hot Spring National Park. This is properly the only city national park that I know. The fountain on the side is from the hot spring and you can see the vapor in the air.
The bath house become a place to visit with rich history. The decoration and room set up represent the rich and famous spend their time here. It is a bath house that not in service but tell a lot of story. The men bath area is very nice. It have multi jet shower for multi direction of whole body. Very cool in 1900.
The massage room is very interesting. They call it electro and mechano therapy. Imagine you have this equipment like hammer vibrator. Mechanic wheel stretcher… Sound like torture machines.
They also have steam room with you whole body and only your head is expose not steam. Nail and hair service. I can live with that life. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit this place.

My husband and I took the self-​guided tour, and it was very interesting. We started with the movie that explains the history of the mineral springs and of the development of the bath houses and Hot Springs. They have done a wonderful job restoring this bathhouse so you can see what it looked like when it was in its hey day. Definitely worth the time.

The National Park Service has restored the Fordyce Bathhouse (built in 1915) to its Victorian Era glory and offers free self-​guided and ranger-​guided tours. Hubbie and I did the self-​guided tour and we explored each floor over the course of about 2 hours. A definite must-​see for any Hot Springs visitor with even a passing curiosity about the rise and fall of bathhouse culture and how it built the town of Hot Springs.

Came here on a self guided tour. If you’re into the history of the area, this place is SO COOL.
They recreated what it was like in the old bath house days with restored original equipment. It was really cool to see what it was like almost 100 years ago. You could almost picture the hustle and bustle of the bathhouse when it was in its peak (but it’s kind of creepy thinking most of those people are probably dead now, so maybe you don’t want to think about that). There’s also a video on the second floor (I think) that’s hilariously outdated, but gives you a good idea of what the bathhouses were like (someone actually SCRUBS you? No thanks).
The stained glass in the men’s bathhouse is BEAUTIFUL.

This has been the most interesting place we have visited during our two day trip in Hot Springs. It was so cool the see the old bath equipment. Apparently, the Buckstaff Bathouse provides a bath hot springs similar to those during the early days of the bathouses. After seeing the baths and the metal water machines, I decided that I didn’t want that experience. My boyfriend did, but I am not going to get butt naked and have a stranger wash me. Nope. I can wash myself.
Still, the old medical spa devices and the gym with the old workout equipment was very interesting. We drove all over Hot Springs and found that this is really the only reason (other than the scenic mountain views) that people should be interested in Hot Springs.

I was lucky to visit on the 100^th anniversary of the Fordyce Bathhouse (March 1^st). My tour guide was giving her last tour before her retirement, too. She was very lovely and the tour should not be missed! You can also do a self-​tour if preferred, but guided tours are hourly. The 9 minute video was out of service, unfortunately, but it may be fixed in the near future.
The tiles and stained glass are beautiful. You can visit three floors plus the basement. The design should be similar to the Buckstaff Bathhouse.

This is a pretty cool museum that illustrates what bathhouse was like many years ago. At the time we went admission was free.
The staff seemed knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions. The museum is set up nicely with several floors to wander around and explore. The exhibits were interesting and really gave us a feel of what things were like at a bath house of yesteryear.
This isn’t an all day activity. But if you are in Hot Springs I suggest carving out a couple of hours to stop by this museum and the tour or wander around on your own.

Very cool blast into the past. We did the guided tour, the ranger had tons of info for us and was quick to answer all sorts of questions. The facilities were great tons of mosaic tile and stained glass, and a very cool statue. The rich wood and marble everywhere was a cool tour. You get to see what they use to consider physical therapy kind of interesting how far we’ve come in 100 years. The reason I gave 4 stars is because although everything was great the elevator was not working, they were updating it but the tour spans 3 flora and the bathrooms are not on the main floor so kind of a pain for anyone not able to walk well

I feel like the odd man out, but this place is not as stellar as others make it out to be. I cant complain too much since it was free, but this tour can be done easily within twenty minutes. The museum is insightful on how things were in the past, but it becomes quite redundant halfway through. Unless you are really interested in hearing about the place in detail, skip the guided tour. Its worth checking out, but dont spend too much time here. The video they show is hilariously outdated.

Very cool restoration of 1930’s bathhouse! Beautiful and very informative! Air conditioned comfort as you tour from the basement to the third floor-​amazing peek into the past regarding spa visits to the bathhouses here in Hot Springs for medicinal purposes. A must see if you are in the area!

This is a MUST-​SEE when visiting Hot Springs. Best of all, it’s FREE! It’s a fully restored bathhouse/​museum that you can walk through. Each room gives you an idea of what the bathhouses were like in their heyday. (Or pop into Buckstaff Bathhouse to experience it yourself!) Outside, you can feel the actual hot springs in the nearby fountains.

Very interesting! I just loved looking at all the vintage equipment and imagining people lounging around like in the 1920s. The elevator is cool, and I loved seeing the spring downstairs.

If you want to experience Hot Springs and its culture go here. It’s free and they give a wonderful tour. There is an awesome workout room on the top floor that MLB used back in the day, first of its kind they say. Must see!

Been here twice now. Gave an interesting insight into the history of this area. More recently, they’ve opened up a small portion of ground in the basement to display the hot spring that runs underneath the building. Very neat, but I couldn’t help noticing the hole was bedazzled with crystals. I believe they are closing sometime in the near future to renovate the building and won’t be open again til fall of 2013, which would be a great time to visit, since summer is punishingly hot.

This is a good place to get oriented to what these bath houses are like. You get to walk through an old bath house and see what old tubs/​steam cabinets/​and showers look like. The basement near the restroom has a hot spring. It’s a bit cheesy because they installed some gaudy quartz crystals for the tourists back in the day.
Outside the building on the left side of the building is a hot spring. You can feel the 134 degree temperature.

Along Bathouse Row, the Fordyce is basically the museum which describes the history of the bathhouses, the types of services offered, famous people who came to the bathouses, etc. set in one of the original establishments. It is a very interesting look into the culture and history that makes Hot Springs what it is today. And the building itself, complete with bath tubs, sitz baths, needle showers, beauty parlor, gymnasion, sunning deck, etc, is very well maintained.
That being said, the exhibits are informative yet a bit dated. The video that plays in the theater gives a very thorough description of Hot Springs, however it looks like it was produced back in the late 80s. Don’t miss the basement, where you can see the actual hot spring running beneath the foundation.
I would encourage anyone visiting Hot Springs to take a trip to the Fordyce!

When you mention bathhouses in San Francisco, you get raised eyebrows, so I didn’t know what to expect walking into this place.
The lady conducts the tour (free) recommended I meet her back at 12:30, which was an hour later. The ranger behind the counter suggested the intro film (free) next to the gift shop, which is a must, the film that is, great history lesson on the place and hot springs in general.
I decided to wander a bit after the film instead, the place was fascinating, three levels in all and each was equally interesting. I’ve been to the Calistoga hot springs back home in California, have to say it was not as elaborate nor anything this fancy.
Definitely ahead of their time with the whole body shower piping (see pic) how do I get one of those install in my bathroom?
I was more or less done with the place when I met up with the tour guide lady again in the lobby, by then she was wearing something that belongs to that era, since no one was around, I spoke with her a bit, and I’m positive she would have gave a great tour to this place, I wanted more insight into some of the apparatus in the building, but I was ready for lunch and didn’t want to walkthrough the place again, so I suggest call ahead and coordinate accordingly.

Hooray for National Parks!
Fordyce Bathhouse is the Visitor’s Center for the National Park Services’ smallest park. Tour the bathhouse on your own, or wait for a Ranger-​guided tour. Since we just missed the last tour, we decided to go out on our own.
The bathhouse is not only beautiful, but chock-​full of history and is well-​kept. There are some areas that are roped-​off, but it is so everyone can enjoy the rooms set up as if back in olden times.
Some of the equipment people used to cure their ailments were very odd, and many are on display at the bathhouse.
There is also a gift shop and a Park Ranger will answer any questions in the Front Lobby desk.

You must take a walking tour through the Bathhouse Visitors Center before taking your own bath. There are 3 floors to tour and it will take you no more than 2 hours. Bring your camera because the equipment and scenes are odd yet ingenious. The men’s bath hall was the most luxurious and what a beautiful fountain, glass ceiling, and marble benches they had to accent their experience. Mercury rubs were the treatment for syphilus and there was a device with a ceiling track that was built solid to allow full body immersion and rehab for infirmly persons. The 15 minute video provided an overall summary of the history of Bathhouse Row and the 15 minute video located upstairs ‘about your bathing experience’ will prepare you in what to expect at the Buckstaff! One more bonus about the Visitors Center? It’s free!