DeSoto Nature Trail

Welcome to Episode 1 of Summer 2024

Today, we’re going to walk the DeSoto Nature & Spillway Trail. It’s really two trails in one. Let’s first begin our walk of the DeSoto Nature Trail, which is about 1.2 miles in total. We’re going to walk the first leg of this trail today and in our next episode we’ll finish the back side of the DeSoto Nature Trail. After that we’ll walk the Spillway Trail which is about 3/4 of a mile.

These two trails comprise one of my favorite places to walk/hike inside Hot Springs Village. It takes you over the DeSoto Dam and past the spillway if you walk both trails (which I highly recommend). The first part has an often steep incline through the woods, sure to get your heart-rate up. At the top you reach one side of the dam offering a nice reprieve from the climb. From the dam is a terrific view of the lake and the houses along the shore.

Then when you reach the other side you’ll be on the spillway side, where you can sit a spell and catch your breath before you descend down the other side of the trail, which follows the downward path of the spillway.

Nearby you’ll find the Hot Springs Village Dog Park and Bocce Ball Courts (pronounced bah-chee).

Location: 201 DeSoto Park Lane, Hot Springs Village