Parking
No lot is identified at the Arlington Y. Walk in from the Central Avenue and Arlington Lawn side on the 0.1-mile Arlington Trail connector; Floral and Upper Dogwood offer other on-foot approaches. Access miles are extra.
Overview
About Lower Dogwood Trail
Why go
- A compact circuit with a distinctive boulder section.
- Several trail connections make it easy to add to a longer North Mountain walk.
Heads up
- The Arlington start is reached on foot from a connector; there is no drive-up lot at the junction.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Hot Springs map
Full mapElevation801–961 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
1 active Hot Springs alert
- InfoBurn ban in parkA burn ban is in effect because of high fire danger. - In the campground and picnic areas, only gas and charcoal grills are currently allowed; the ban was enacted August 15, 2026.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Hot Springs Tour Guide
Your drive to Lower Dogwood Trail, narrated.
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 trailhead
Arlington Lawn and Hot Water Cascade0:00 / 0:31
“Arlington Lawn is coming up, with Hot Water Cascade beside its pavilion. This is the park's largest visible spring, where thermal water spills down a rock face into two pools.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Hot Springs Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Superior Bathhouse Brewery: A Meal by the Springs
- Hot Springs Mountain: Pagoda and Tower
- Fordyce Bathhouse: Beyond the Baths
- West Mountain: Town Views and a Stone Shelter
- 18 audio storiesacross Hot Springs’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor White-tailed Deer, Groundhog, Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 19 trails, 33 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Lower Dogwood Trail
A compact North Mountain circuitThis is a short loop of about 0.7 mile on the lower North Mountain hillside.
This is a short loop of about 0.7 mile on the lower North Mountain hillside. Start at the Arlington Trail Y, follow the Lower Dogwood tread toward the boulder-marked western end, and continue downhill; a short stretch of Upper Dogwood links the two ends so you finish back at the Y. The mapped circuit is about 0.72 mile. Allow 15–40 minutes. It is a quick hill walk, with more up-and-down than its short distance suggests.
Finding the loopWalk in on Arlington Trail from the Central Avenue and Arlington Lawn side; the park map marks…
Walk in on Arlington Trail from the Central Avenue and Arlington Lawn side; the park map marks that connector at 0.1 mile. Floral Trail and Upper Dogwood also reach Lower Dogwood, but those access walks add distance. The loop recorded here uses only the short Upper Dogwood link between the two Lower Dogwood junctions; continuing farther on Upper Dogwood becomes a longer North Mountain outing.
Tread, access and dogsThe tread is packed dirt, with short climbs and descents rather than a paved promenade.
The tread is packed dirt, with short climbs and descents rather than a paved promenade. The route is not ADA compliant. It is open year-round without a reservation, and dogs may come on leash.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Hot Springs
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
41 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.
