Sight · Hot Springs National Park
Free cold-spring water for bottles and jugs near West Mountain.
Map
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Hot Springs Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Hot Springs National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
Recorded for this place
Whittington Park: Old Bridges and Cold Spring Water“You're nearing Whittington Park, a shaded creekside stop for an easy walk. Its flat gravel loop takes about twenty to forty-five minutes, with benches where you can pause.”
Plays as you drive up to Whittington Jug Fountain in the Parkwolf Hot Springs Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Whittington Jug Fountain is a public cold-spring filling point just off Whittington Avenue near the base of West Mountain, with two recessed bays for bottles or larger jugs. The park lists the water as free. Visitors have reported pulling up beside the fountain to fill containers, so it can be a quick stop when there is room beside the road.
This is one of the park's cold springs, separate from its hot springs. The source emerges from Big Fork Chert; the water is estimated to be over 6,000 years old and averages about 66°F (19°C). The park treats cold-spring water with ozone and says little remains at the spigot, without a treated taste.
Park employees first built a trough to collect the spring flow in 1911. The jug fountain was built at its present location in 1954. This small refill stop is part of the park's long record of making its spring water available to visitors.
Wildlife
71 sightingsWhite-tailed DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
11 sightingsGroundhogMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
12 sightingsMexican Long-nosed ArmadilloMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
16 sightingsTurkey VultureMost seen around noonSighting map
40 sightingsCardinalMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
27 sightingsSummer TanagerMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Hot Springs. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateMountain Top Trail1.5 mi · 1 hr · 0.1 mi awayA wooded ridge crossing with a steep climb and a sharp descent.
EasyWhittington Trail1.2 mi · 30 min · 0.3 mi awayA flat gravel loop past Whittington Creek's old bridges.
ModerateWest Mountain Trail Loop2 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.4 mi awayA gradual trail with a steeper Mountain Top return.
ChallengingSunset Trail9.2 mi · 6 hr · 0.5 mi awayA rugged traverse from West Mountain to Gulpha Gorge.
ModerateOak Trail1 mi · 35 min · 0.8 mi awayA short dirt climb from Bathhouse Row into West Mountain’s trails.
ModerateCanyon Trail0.7 mi · 36 min · 0.8 mi awayA short downtown climb that gets steep on the mountain side.
EasyTufa Terrace Trail0.3 mi · 24 min · 0.9 mi awayA short paved climb to pale tufa beside the thermal cascade
ModerateOertel Trail1.4 mi · 45 min · 0.9 mi awayA steep, bumpy gravel climb links downtown with mountain trails.
Sight · 0.2 mi awayWhittington Park and CreekA shaded creek walk through Hot Springs' old pleasure ground.
Sight · 0.5 mi awayWest Mountain Loop OverlookA summit vista beside stone once shaped into tools.
Picnic area · 0.7 mi awayWest Mountain Picnic OverlookA shaded picnic stop with city views and a 1924 stone shelter.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayWest Mountain Lower OverlookBathhouse Row and downtown open up below the road.
Sight · 0.8 mi awayBalanced RockA quiet ridge hike ends at a novaculite outcrop and wide view.
Restaurant · 0.9 mi awayThe Pancake ShopA 1940 breakfast institution a few steps from Bathhouse Row.
Restaurant · 0.9 mi awayThe Ohio ClubA 1905 bar with live music, a Reuben, and a casino past.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayQuapaw Baths & SpaThermal pools under stained glass in a 1922 bathhouse.Parkwolf’s Hot Springs ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
