Overview
Stone Mountain, advertised as the World's largest piece of exposed granite, is perhaps Georgia's most recognizable landmark. The rock dome extends 825 feet above the the surrounding landscape, and 9 miles beneath. The vertical face of the mountain features the largest bas-relief sculpture in the World. The sculpture is a memorial of three key Confederate figures: Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis. Mystery and controversy shroud the mountain's jaded history and its' sculpture, but that's something you can research on your own. One note of interest is that when the first European settlers came, they discovered a mysterious wall encompassing the crown of the mountain, similar to the one found at Fort Mountain. The wall has long since been removed, rocks pushed over the edge or carried away by souvenir seekers and vandals.

The park is located less than 20 miles East of downtown Atlanta off Highway 78. Once you pay the $10.00 per car fee for entry to the 3,200 acre park, you will begin to discover a wide variety of things to do. There is a "theme park" area with shops, a miniature golf course, 4D theater,  treetop adventure course, and various other seasonal attractions and events. There are additional fees for these attractions, and it can get a bit expensive.

Additional park amenities include a gondola that lifts visitors to the top of the mountain (for a fee) to enjoy the spectacular view, including Atlanta's skyline. There is a open-air passenger train that travels around the base of the mountain, stopping for a short show and a drop-off site for hikers (the show is seasonal and train may or may not be running and/or stopping at the hiker drop-off. Call the park for information). There is a Robert Trent Jones designed golf course, a lake for fishing, canoeing, and kayaking, a riverboat ride, and  amphibious vehicle rides called "Ducks". There is also an antique car museum and an Antebellum plantation with a petting zoo.  All these attractions are subject to seasonal (and somewhat random) closures, so make sure to call ahead (don't rely on the website).

A trademark of Stone Mountain is a laser-light show that is projected on the sculpture on certain evenings. The music and lights are a real treat, and the show is typically followed by fireworks.

Every Winter, the large sloped lawn at the base of the mountain is converted into a massive snow hill for tubing and play. Known as Snow Mountain, this feature offers us snow-deprived Southerners the chance to enjoy a Winter wonderland with an easy exit. Yes, we like snow, but just in small doses. 

Finally, the park hosts what Woodall's calls Georgia's number 1 campground. This is where *my review takes a bit of a diversion from Woodall's findings. Certainly the campground is in an ideal and beautiful setting, and it should be a fantastic campground, but it's not. It's like a classic car with a custom paintjob, but with tattered seats and a smoking engine. It needs an overhaul! There are but a handful of sites I would consider "good", and none I would consider excellent, or even above average. For more, see my accounts and pictures of camping visits since 2007 below.

In summary, our feelings toward Stone Mountain park are certainly mixed. We love Stone Mountain! We will return! But we are always frustrated about random attraction closures and poorly maintained campground facilities. If you are a tourist wanting to visit Georgia, this is a must-see destination. If you are from Georgia, I think visiting Stone Mountain is a law.

The Richardson Tribe

NOTE: *I recognize that opinions are subjective. Your opinion may vary considerably from mine. However, I think this is a great example of an honest review. Woodall's gives the facilities a 5 out of 5 rating, I give it A 5 out of 10, the lowest I have assigned a recommended park. Yes, I would still recommend the campground, but make sure you select a "premium site".

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Adventure Journal
Entry Date: January 2015
It was a fresh new year, and we had new bikes. We'd been wanting to ride at Panola Mountain/Arabia Mountain for some time, and this looked like this long MLK weekend was a perfect one to ride. There is no campground at Panola Mountain State Park, and the closest place I could find was Stone Mountain.

We'd been to Stone Mountain many times, so we weren't expecting any surprises. If you've read our previous reviews, you'll know finding a good site here is like a roll of the dice. Odds are against you unless you really know the park. It was a long weekend, so we decided to bite the bullet and pay for full hookups in one of their "premium" sites. Well, lo and behold, we were surprised! Our site was a pull in with a view of the lake and mountain through the windshield of our motorhome. We had an almost private lakeside area that looked like a great place to launch a kayak.

Saturday and Sunday were spent relaxing and riding bikes around the Stone Mountain campground as well as the plantation area. We saw parts of Stone Mountain we'd never seen. We also hiked to the top of the mountain. What a gorgeous couple of days!

On Monday, MLK day, we packed-up and headed for Panola Mountain State Park for a day of bike riding on their paved bike paths. But, that's another adventure...

Springtime at Stone Mountain can be exceptionally beautiful. The park is covered with flowering trees and shrubs, and the landscape is absolutely beautiful. We had friends coming into town, so we decided Stone Mountain would be a great place to meet them. We planned to camp at Stone Mountain for two nights beginning on Friday. Rather than fighting Atlanta Traffic on Friday Afternoon, we decided to wait till later in the evening to arrive at the park. We arrived at the gate and paid our $10 fee to enter the park. This, by the way, is a per vehicle fee. If you tow a vehicle, don't drop it outside the park, or you'll have to pay two fees. Yes, $20 just to get to the campground. I knew what to expect when we got to the campground. The office was closed so I proceeded to my site. Unfortunately, the condition was even worse than I remembered, so I pulled into an empty site for the evening with plans to move in the morning. I put out the slides and hooked up power. No electricity! Oh well, no big deal. Homer (our RV) is self contained and everything works without outside electricity (except the microwave and coffee pot).

The next morning I took a walk to find a better site. I observed exactly what I'd seen over the past six years of camping here. A campground with so much potential, the largest in the state, slowly falling apart. To be fair, they have made improvements to a portion of the campground, but for the most part, the sites are poorly maintained, the roads are crumbling, and trash is accumulating. I chose a somewhat level site (probably 5" slope to left and back) adjacent my original selection before heading to the campground office to purchase tickets for the park.

When I visited the campground office, I had no problem changing sites (the campground was almost completely empty). The lady at the office was very nice and apologetic. I felt sorry for her because I'm sure plenty of first-time visitors come in angry about their site. As I said before, I knew what to expect. While at the office, I purchased six tickets for the park, around $150. It's a little easier to swallow the expense here, because when you purchase tickets at the campground, you receive a second day (to be used any time in the calendar year) for no additional charge. We piled into Homer and headed for the RV parking near the attractions. The plan was to ride the shuttle, but were informed the shuttle only runs when enough people are camping. Of course, the water taxi wasn't running either. This information should be very obvious on their website, and it is not.

The amusement park (I really hesitate to call it that) officially opens at 10:30am (seasonal) and closes at 5pm (yes, even on the weekend). We arrived at 11am, and were surprised to see that very few of the shops were open (most did open later, seemingly random). The train and Summit Skyride were running, and the miniature golf and Skywalk features were open, but that was about it. We decided to play some miniature golf then ride the Skyride to the top of the mountain to meet-up with our friends. We were excited to see so few people in the Skyride line, thinking it would be a very brief wait. Unfortunately, they seem to have reduced the frequency of runs because of the smaller crowd.

The view from the summit of Stone Mountain is pretty amazing. The Atlanta skyline is pretty amazing from here. You can also see the North Georgia Mountains as well as two nearby rock mounds similar to Stone Mountain. One is Arabia Mountain, and the other is Panola Mountain, a state park. We decided to walk down the mountain instead of riding. The kids ran most of the way. The plan was to catch the park's train back around to the attractions. We stood and waited for the train, which slowly passed us without stopping. We waited for it to come back, but it soon became apparent that the train didn't stop here anymore. Fortunately, there is a shuttle bus that stops at that location periodically.

Back at the attractions, the kids first wanted to go see the animals at the "Plantation." We all love farm animals and especially remembered the goats from previous visits. We weren't disappointed. We spent a lot of time petting the sheep, goats, and pigs, and talking with the ladies that take care of the livestock. After touring several of the old homes and other structures at the plantation, we proceeded to park's 4D theater for a Yogi Bear movie. We all loved it! The kids were also eager to try out the new Sky Hike, a sort of obstacle course on stilts. All four of the children and I decided to give it a try. There is a very similar feature at Dollywood with one exception. Dollywood's "Adventure Mountain" always offers a relatively easy route. I witnessed a pretty small child that got really scared on the third obstacle. He had no choice but to proceed through the entire level. Our kids did just fine, but I was ready to get off before I completed the first level. There are three levels. It's a great feature, but I think some alternative exits should be added.

After a full day at the park, we headed back to the campground. We were so looking forward to a nice relaxed evening by the campfire with a view of the mountain across the lake. This is what keeps bringing us back, the view. Other than having a hard time keeping the firewood I purchased at the office lit, the evening delivered. It was beautiful. In all, our memories of the day were all positive. We had fun, saw some sights, and got a little exercise. We plan to come back in the near future to use the second day of tickets, and perhaps ride bikes at nearby Panola Mountain State Park. Yes, with all my gripes about the campground and the park in general, we keep coming back for more. So I'll say it again: "Thank you sir, may I have another?"

Note: As critical as I am about the Stone Mountain Campground, I still recommend a visit. Just be aware of the condition of many of the RV sites. I cannot give an opinion on the tent sites, and many of the sites near the office have been redone. If you don't expect too much, you might not be disappointed.

Adventure Journal
Entry Date: February 2011
This was a long weekend for Rebecca and the kids, but I had to referee a robotics event in Atlanta, so we had to figure out a way to make a mini-vacation of it. We decided to visit Stone Mountain park for several reasons. First, it's near Atlanta, a mere 20 minutes from my event. Second, there is a beautiful lake at Stone Mountain, a perfect place to play with our canoes. Third, and most important, there is "Snow Mountain", a Winter attraction that provides snow tubing and various other snow-related fun activities.

On Saturday, while I was working, the rest of the family and some very good friends hiked up the back side of the mountain. From what I hear, it was exhausting (I haven't done that hike since I was about 15). Unfortunately, they took no pictures, so...

On Sunday, we hit Snow Mountain about 11am. It was around 60 degrees, but the man-made snow was perfect for tubing. We made a few runs before joining the others in the snow play area. It was a lot of fun, but as we have discovered in the past, barely worth the cost. If the rest of the park's attractions were open, it might have been better. But, the gondola that takes visitors to the top of the mountain was closed for maintenance (not mentioned on the website), and, well, maybe it's easiest to say what we found open, the train (no show or stops), and the 4D theater. Our tickets were for Snow Mountain and three attractions. We couldn't find a third attraction open.

The rest of the day was very relaxing as we hung around the campground fishing, canoeing, and exploring. As usual for Stone Mountain, our campsite was far below average, but the location of the campground is awesome. With regards to the campground, make sure you read the overview.

After checking-in, we went to the Crossroads section of the park. As usual, only some of the attractions were open although visitors pay full price. We went to the 4D Polar Express movie and it was pretty cool.  We were lucky in that we only had to wait for about 30 minutes to get in. When we left the theater, the line was twice as along as when we went in. Then we rode the train. Once again, we got lucky and pretty much got right on the train. The kids made their own sugar cookies, and that's about it. We really enjoyed the lights when the sun went down, and that was the best part. Once again, we were lucky because our tickets were virtually free, so we didn't feel ripped-off. However, I feel sorry for anyone that paid full price because there were very few attractions open (but most of the gift shops were).

New Years Eve - We had originally planned to go to Snow Mountain's Grand Opening today, but the wind was gusting 20-30 mph, and made the cold a little hard to bear.  It was, after all, a bone chilling 53 degrees!  We decided to hang around the campground although we did visit the large playground also located in Stone Mountain park.  We drove through the covered bridge also.  We wrapped-up the day by baking home-made in the oven, and calzone for Mommy and Daddy in their old-fashioned iron sandwich press (or whatever they call it). We watched a movie in Homer the camper then crashed (well before midnight. We wanted to be ready for tomorrow's adventure at Snow Mountain.

New Years Day
The kids (Lainey in particular) really wanted snow for Christmas, and Santa delivered. There were tickets for Snow Mountain in their stockings Christmas Morning. Snow Mountain is a new Winter attraction at Stone Mountain, Georgia. They have converted the memorial Lawn area into a snow tubing, snow play area. It's a little pricey ($25 each, even for kids), but we got a special camping/Snow Mountain package that saved a few bucks.  The kids had a lot of fun, although the visit started by standing in line for over half an hour for the 10 second ride down the slope in the tubes.  The smart thing to do, by the way, is do the other stuff first (snow ball fights, snow man building, etc.), then hit the tubing slope after the line recedes a little.  Towards the end of our visit, the wait was down to just a few minutes.  Like so many of Stone Mountain's assets, Snow Mountain is great, but...  There's always a but.  It's overpriced, and the attraction is never quite as great as the commercial makes it look.
 

Note: regarding Stone Mountain's campground.  It's rough!  I mean, it's really rough. The inner roads are deteriorating.  he sites are horribly un-level.  their best sites (in my opinion) do not have full hook-up.  There is no cable (no big deal unless you advertise full hookups as they do).  It's the only campground we've ever stayed in that has a police car patrolling constantly (sometimes too fast). Our "premium site" was in the equivalent of a parking lot, and the street lights were so bright you could barely see the stars. Let's face it, some people like to live in subdivisions, and some people don't. This campground is perfect for those that like subdivisions. The view from our site was the tops of about 200 other RVs. Mommy and Daddy agreed that we probably won't come back to camp.

March 2012

 

February 2011







 

May 2008