The bored crew, housed in specially constructed barracks, indulged their nostalgia for Germany by building a perfect replica of a Bavarian Village. The day after the Armistice in 1918, the State Department issued a directive to save the village, but it was too late. Eighteen of those prisoners died of typhoid fever during their incarceration. There is overnight lodging at a retreat or the bed and breakfast inns in town. The Hot Springs have been reopened and are drawing an increasing number of people to bathe in the natural hot mineral waters.
Camping is available across from the Hot Springs on the French Broad River.
To exit from town, proceed to the fork at the end of Main Street and go straight onto Route 203 towards Spring Creek. There is no easy way out of Hot Springs, surrounded by obstacles like the proverbial sleeping princess. Route 203 is a winding, mountain ous, but good road that makes up in scenery for its difficulties. At 3.6 miles from the river on the left is Rocky Bluff Recreation Area, an extensive and beautiful public park run by the Forest Service. It has picnic tables, barbecue pits, public bathrooms, campsites and well-marked hiking trails of varyin g distances.