The Awe-Inspiring Arkansas Lookout That Needs To Go On Your Bucket List
By J.B. VanDyke|Published April 08, 2017
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J.B. VanDyke
Author
J.B. Weisenfels has lived in rural Arkansas for three decades. She is a writer, a mom, and a graduate student. She is also an avid collector of tacky fish whatnots, slightly chipped teapots, and other old things. In her spare time she enjoys driving to the nearest creek to sit a while. If you were to visit her, she'd try to feed you cornbread.
The current Hot Springs Mountain Tower is the third to be built on Hot Springs Mountain. In the late 1800s, a wooden observatory was built there. That tower was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. The second tower was made out of metal and had an elevator, but it became unstable and was knocked down in the seventies. You’ll be glad to know the current tower, which was built in the 1980s, is neither made out of wood nor unstable. The view from today’s Hot Springs Mountain Tower is every bit as awe-inspiring as it ever was way back when, and it should make it onto your bucket list right away.
You can see the tower from a long ways off. That’s because it rises 216 ft. from the top of the mountain. That means it's 1,256 ft. above sea level.
The tower itself is quite an interesting-looking feat of architecture. You’ll see stairs that take you all the way up to the two observation decks, but you’ll be glad to know there’s an elevator on the inside, too.
You can learn about the history of Hot Springs National Park on the first observation deck at Hot Springs Mountain Tower. They have cool educational displays that will tell you all about it.
There isn’t quite anything like this mountain tower, and you need to schedule a visit right away. The tower is open seven days a week starting at 9 a.m. and the price of admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors, and $4 for kids 5-11. Kids 4 and under are free.