Stone Mountain

Late one afternoon, after our meetings were over, a few of us decided that we ought to try going out to see Stone Mountain. We were a group of four, two had been there before, and the others had not. It took quite a while to get there from where we were staying in Buckhead. Traffic was pretty heavy, and there didn’t seem to be much in the way of freeways between the two locations.

Luckily I had brought the girl with me. She knew how to get us there. Getting back was another issue though. (BTW, girl is a term that my traveling companions and I frequently use to mean GPS. It comes from the female-sounding voice that it uses to give directions. It’s pretty common to hear one of us ask something like, “Does your girl know if there’s a good Mexican restaurant near here?” or, “Does the girl want us to get off of the freeway at this exit, or the next one?”)

By the time we arrived at Stone Mountain, the visitor’s center, shops, and other amenities had all closed. We got out of the car and looked around a bit. Of course we were able to see the mountain itself and the enormous carving on the face of it. The area was beautiful, with its fragrant, verdant forests.

The carving on the mountain is impressive. The figures of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson can all be seen. The carving is decptively large. They said that the statue of Robert E. Lee was more than 90 feet high.

It is a very popular area. There were a lot of well-utilized walkways. Bicycles were everywhere. I’m sure that it would be great to live near this place.

We stopped and had an excellent meal at a German restaurant nearby and then headed back to Buckhead.

I hope to go back there again someday, especially during the daytime when everything is open.

Took my daughters for a quick getaway trip to the spa and to Stone Mountain. They really enjoyed their first spa trip!

We thoroughly enjoyed our day at Stone Mountain. The park is beautiful, but it was a really hot Southern Saummer day and the kids couldn’t wait to get back and swim at the hotel pool!

the mountain is so big when you’re a kid! then they tell you it isn’t ACTUALLY a mountain haha

Climb the mountain, explore.

They put on an excellent laser light show just after sunset! Bring your lawnchair or blanket, pick a spot and park it, you’re in for a great show!

I can’t remember a time in my life that I didnt’ visit Stone Mountain! My family has photos of me there as a baby, and I’ve been going to the laser show for two decades! I attended Girl Scout Day Camp there for years, and was even a counselor’s aide. I had one of my bridal showers there, where we all rode the riverboat.

Stone Mountain may have become more commercial than it was in my childhood, but it’s still wonderful. I love to climb the mountain; my husband and I sometimes climb to the halfway point after dark and bring our telescope. During the day, we’ll visit the grist mill or walk along the trails; I love visiting the carillion, too, to hear the concerts.

If you climb the mountain, be sure to look down at your feet. The path up is literally covered with messages engraved over the last one hundred and fifty years. I don’t like seeing new entries, but the messages from the nineteenth century are often simply beautiful to look at, and an important window into the lives of generations long gone. Don’t miss it.

My grandparents took me and my brother here a few summers ago while when we visited them. It was surprisingly pretty neat…

Leave your trek up Stone Mtn and tour of All Things Confederate for your out-of-town visitors/relatives who absolutely must do the museum and such (these are the same visitors who want to go to The Freakin World of Coca Cola).

Stone Mountain’s real spiffiness factor is in the myriad trails and fishing spots. And the Christmas lights, of course. And the sorry pow-wow in November. At least Bill Miller’s always there (which makes it worth it).

Rockin.

This place is amazing.
If you have the time don’t use the skylift.
Take a slow hike up the rock, observe and enjoy the wildlife.
Then take a lot of pictures when ur at the top.
Come back down with the lift.
Then check out the museum or whatever it is.
And I stress thi completely, wait untill nightfall and watch the laser show.
They have a show where they animate the stone carving on the side of the mountain with lasers and sound.
And come on, its the largest round stone in the WORLD! !