HOT SPRINGS -- Oaklawn Park offers free general admission with track-side access at the rail. But the vast majority of racegoers are here to risk money betting on the horses. That can be a pricey proposition on a bad-luck afternoon.
Of course, you can keep your money in your pocket. But going to the races without wagering is like going to a restaurant without ordering anything to eat. You'll leave hungry -- for action at the track, for food at the restaurant.
The good news is that frugal Spa City visitors during Oaklawn's live racing season, which ends April 15, can enjoy an assortment of other attractions free of charge -- perhaps easing the pain of any parimutuel losses. Here's a sampler of no-cost allures in Hot Springs:
• Fordyce Bathhouse: The Central Avenue anchor of Hot Springs National Park houses the federal site's visitor center. A stroll through the Fordyce's 23 restored rooms gives a vivid sense of what the resort city was like in the heyday of thermal-spa vacations between 1900 and World War II.
• Ozark Bathhouse: Another Bathhouse Row building now serves as an art gallery. On exhibit are works by artists from around the nation who painted or sculpted here as part of the National Park Service's Artist-in-Residence program.
• Free Mineral Water: A couple of free stations near Central Avenue and Reserve Street offer visitors the chance to take home as much Hot Springs mineral water as they'd like -- as long as they bring the necessary bottles or jugs.
• Mountain Valley Spring Visitors Center: There's no free water in the white-fronted building at 150 Central Ave., but displays of old-time Mountain Valley bottles dating as far back as 1894 are interesting.
• The Winery of Hot Springs: Free tastings of nine Arkansas wines can be enjoyed at 1503 Central Ave. The building also houses a wine-history exhibit, an offshoot of the museum at Cowry Winery in Logan County.
• Art Galleries: An array of art galleries and antique shops are open to browsers along Central Avenue and elsewhere in Hot Springs. Some prices are eye-popping, but just looking costs nothing. A free gallery walk takes place downtown the first Friday of each month from 5 to 9 p.m.
• Arkansas Walk of Fame: Outside the Hot Springs Visitor Center, 629 Central Ave., 74 embedded sidewalk plaques pay tribute to noted figures who were born or lived in the Natural State. The celebrities vary from singer Jimmy Driftwood and Gen. Douglas MacArthur to baseball pitchers Dizzy and Daffy Dean.
• Historic Baseball Trail: Scattered around Hot Springs are 28 plaques celebrating the period from 1886 through the 1920s when the city was a popular spring training venue for major leaguers. The markers evoke memories of Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Cy Young and other stars of yore.
• Bill Clinton Boyhood Home: Tourists have to settle for a drive-by view of the private residence at 1011 Park Ave., where the future 42nd president lived from ages 8 to 15. It's one of 15 Clinton-related stops on a visitor-center leaflet.
• Hot Springs Mountain: Hairpin turns mark the way up Hot Springs Mountain (aka North Mountain), with several pull-offs for admiring the panoramas. At the top is a paid attraction, Hot Springs Mountain Tower, but the drive is plenty scenic without shelling out to go up the tower's elevator.
Information on free attractions (and other activities) is available at Hot Springs Visitor Center, 629 Central Ave. Call (501) 321-2835 or visit hotsprings.org.
Weekend on 03/09/2017