Parking
No dedicated Tufa Terrace lot was identified. Use downtown parking near Bathhouse Row and walk to Arlington Lawn or the Grand Promenade; the park map identifies privately operated paid lots south of Bathhouse Row.
Overview
About Tufa Terrace Trail
Why go
- A short paved route reaches the Hot Water Cascade and its tufa terraces.
- Connects Bathhouse Row and Arlington Lawn with the Grand Promenade and Peak Trail.
Heads up
- Stairs throughout make the paved walk unsuitable for visitors who need step-free access.
- Too short to be much of a hike on its own.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Hot Springs map
Full mapElevation618–672 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 Tufa Terrace 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
- Fordyce Bathhouse: Beyond the Baths
- West Mountain: Town Views and a Stone Shelter
- Hot Springs Mountain: Pagoda and Tower
- 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 Tufa Terrace Trail
A short uphill connectionTufa Terrace is a 0.
Tufa Terrace is a 0.3-mile paved, point-to-point walk between Arlington Lawn at Hot Water Cascade and the Grand Promenade. Allow 15–30 minutes one way. It is a quick way to see the thermal cascade and the rock it has built, or to connect Bathhouse Row with the mountain trails. Walk back the same way for a roughly 0.6-mile outing.
Stairs on the way upStarting behind the pavilion at Hot Water Cascade, the route climbs toward the Grand Promenade…
Starting behind the pavilion at Hot Water Cascade, the route climbs toward the Grand Promenade and crosses the Peak Trail. The paved surface keeps the footing clear, but stairs appear in several places and the park does not consider the trail ADA compliant. Its short distance can be misleading if you need a step-free route. Dogs are allowed on leash.
How the tufa formsHot spring water cools as it reaches the surface and leaves calcium carbonate behind, building…
Hot spring water cools as it reaches the surface and leaves calcium carbonate behind, building the pale, porous tufa at Hot Water Cascade. The spring water travels underground for more than 4,000 years and emerges at an average 143°F. At the lower end, take in the cascade and its terraces together; the rock shelves are the reason this brief walk is named for tufa.
Getting to the trailYou can reach either end from Arlington Lawn or the Grand Promenade.
You can reach either end from Arlington Lawn or the Grand Promenade. There is no dedicated Tufa Terrace parking named in the park information; use downtown parking near Bathhouse Row and walk to the access point. The park map shows privately operated paid lots south of Bathhouse Row.
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.
