If you're looking for the perfect place to spend some time this fall, look no further than Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas. Autumn paints the city of Hot Springs and surrounding Ouachita Mountains with vibrant foliage in red, orange, and yellow for beautiful fall sightseeing. Outside of soaking up the beauty of the new season, Hot Springs offers four annual attractions for anyone to enjoy! If you're looking to explore your inner nerd, head to Spa-Con Pop Culture & Comic Convention. For the film buff, don't miss out on the oldest documentary film festival in North America, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. And if you really want to immerse yourself in the outdoors for the fall season, check out the Spa Running Festival and the Güdrun Mountain Biking Festival! Check out these four fun attractions happening in Hot Springs this fall below!
Spa-Con Pop Culture & Comic Convention – September 24 - 26
Spa-Con Comic & Pop Culture Convention will be held September 24 – 26 at the Hot Springs Convention Center and you don’t want to miss out on the fun! This year’s Spa-Con is full of exciting celebrity guests, like Tank Girl star, Lori Petty, and voice actor of Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants, Rodger Bumpass. Cosplayers attending Spa-Con range from all realms and realities, including Extreme Costumes, Knightmage, McCubed, Gregory Harris, Crafty Fox and Emmy Lou Cosplay. Spa-Con also offers an impressive lineup of artists and including, Michael Golden, Tone Rodriguez, Geroges Jeanty, Rags Morales, Chad Maupin, Renee Witterstaeter, and more. And that’s not all, the Spa-Con expo hall will be full of amazing vendors to shop between workshops, panels and more special events! Past Spa-Con's have produced celebrity guests such as Stranger Things star Shannon Purser, Twin Peaks actresses Sherilyn Fenn & Sheryl Lee, Star Trek's very own Michelle Nichols and many more. Snag your passes now for the most exciting Spa-Con to date!
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival – October 8 – 16
Did you know that North America’s oldest all-documentary film festival is in Hot Springs? The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival will celebrate 30 years running October 8 - 16! The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival provides world class film screenings to Arkansans and visitors from all over the world every fall. The 9-day multicultural and intergenerational event provides opportunities for filmmakers through panels, workshops and film professionals with a variety of documentary features and shorts. A true passion for the art of documentary film makes the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival a one of a kind festival in the heart of Hot Springs, Arkansas. For more information on the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, click here.
Gudrun MTB Festival – November 12 – 14
The 3rd Annual Güdrun Northwoods Mountain Bike Festival will take place November 12 - 14! Experience 3 days of shredding through the world class Northwoods Trails, located just minutes from downtown Hot Springs. The Güdrun Festival traces its origin to the early days of the Attila the Hun Mountain Bike Race, which began in 1992 where the Northwoods Trails are located today. The Güdrun Festival incorporates activities, such as the Güdrun Slow Roll, Mini- Enduro AND Enduro, Jump Jam and the Attila the Hun Mountain Bike XC Race. Wear your best viking gear and get ready to race through the Northwoods! Click here to learn more about the Gudrun MTB Festival.
Spa Running Festival – November 13
The Spa Running Festival in Hot Springs offers a race for everyone from kids, walkers, beginners and even elite runners! Take your pick of races available - Half Marathon, 10k, 5k and even a Spa Squirt 1k race for children ages 2-10. This year Hot Springs National Park celebrates 100 years as a National Park, so it’s the perfect time to celebrate with the Summit 2 Summit Half Marathon race. Run up two mountains in the National Park with breathtaking viewpoints of the surrounding Ouachita Mountains and city of Hot Springs below. That’s not the only anniversary being celebrated at Spa Running Festival, it’s also the 40th Anniversary for the Spa 10k – that’s a long time coming! Run through the bursting fall foliage in Hot Springs National Park this November 13th! For more information on the Spa Running Festival, click here.