Monday, April 25, 2016

RVing In Stone Mountain – Days 7&8

Our first day in Stone Mountain was devoted to driving around the park and the adjacent village of Stone Mountain, GA.  After seeing what many towns near tourist attractions have become, I was expecting a very nice, touristy downtown but that was not the case.  While there were a few shops, none of the village center looked prosperous and there were several empty buildings.  Knowing nothing about the economics of the area, I can’t say why it has not been highly improved, but it looks like a missed opportunity to me.

The Stone Mountain Theme Park, on the other hand, has done the opposite and gone from being just a unique mountain that folks visited and walked to the top of to a destination resort.  The mountain itself was formed about 365 million years ago along with the Blue Ridge Mountains.  It is over five miles around the base and 825 feet above the surrounding area (1686 feet above sea level) and composed mainly of quartz and granite.

In addition to the 431 site (202 FHU) campground, the park has the Marriott Conference Resort, with 311 rooms and 25 suites, and the 92 room Stone Mountain Inn.  The park is obviously designed with active visitors in mind as it has two championship golf courses, 15 miles of hiking trails and biking paths along the road.

Stone Mountain is famous for its carving of three confederate leaders (Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson) in the face of the mountain and there is a movement to have it destroyed.  I didn’t get any shots so here are a couple from the web.



That evening we went to dinner at the Stone Mountain Pizza Cafe and I think the food consensus was pretty good.

The next day it rained most of the day and we just piled up in the coach and the group went to lunch at the Commons, which is the restaurant at the golf course overlooking the lake – I thought the food was very good.




Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

4/21 & 4/22/16 event dates

5 comments:

  1. Larry, We've never been to Stone Mountain... Great photos of the mountain with the field in front of it and of the famous or infamous carving. As for destroying the carvings, I'm a bit tired of over the top political correctness. This is the largest bas-relief carving in the world and it was started by Gutzon Borglum, who went on to carve/sculpt Mount Rushmore. Erect a monument to MLK in the same park if it will make people feel better. History moves on and destroying the past is not progress. Just saying... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

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  2. Looks like more fun times there , but not being American don't have much to say about the carving though I think it looks amazing.

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  3. I have enjoyed Stone Mountain many times. Stone Mountain has an amazing light show in the summer too.

    Enjoy your time.

    Velva

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  4. I've always wanted to visit Stone Mountain to see the carvings. As for the carvings themselves, I agree with David and think his idea is excellent. Sorry to hear the town isn't much, but the resort sounds really upscale.
    Sam

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  5. The stone mountain is HUGE and really cool looking.

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