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
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
ReplyDeleteLooks like more fun times there , but not being American don't have much to say about the carving though I think it looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed Stone Mountain many times. Stone Mountain has an amazing light show in the summer too.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your time.
Velva
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.
ReplyDeleteSam
The stone mountain is HUGE and really cool looking.
ReplyDelete