Happy Hollow Jug Fountain (Cold)

Happy Hollow is a free public fountain for filling bottles and jugs with cold spring water. It sits along Fountain Street on the southeast slope of North Mountain, and the water averages 62°F (17°C). Visitors often praise its taste. This is a quick refill stop, not a place to bathe.

A couple of visitors mention that the short curbside parking can fill up, so keep your stop flexible if you’re bringing several jugs. No parking capacity or restroom details are confirmed for the fountain itself.

The fountain draws from a cold spring, separate from the hot springs that made the park famous. The water is treated with ozone; the park says very little remains by the spigot, with no treated taste. The spring probably issues from Arkansas Novaculite, and the water appears to be recent recharge, perhaps less than a century old.

Before 1960, while it was privately owned, this cold spring was called Magnesia Spring. A pitcher cost five cents. That old name belongs to this fountain’s cold spring; it’s easy to confuse with the different thermal Magnesia Spring beneath Quapaw Bathhouse.