Stone Mountain Park

Stone Mountain Park claims to be “Georgia’s most popular attraction.” I can understand the appeal. There is something for everybody, though it seems to be more adult-oriented than, say, Disney World. The things that would appeal to kids are:

• the adventure course
• the 3-D theater
• the train ride
• a petting zoo

It has, for adults, two golf courses, hiking trails and a museum.  The cable ride to the top of the mountain and the historic square appeal to all ages.

In the center of the park, carved into the rock face, is the largest bas-relief in the world – a depiction of the three great heroes of the Confederacy, Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Jefferson Davis.  It is not a great piece of art, nor is it as epic as Mount Rushmore.  But it is worth seeing.  Viewing it is one of the things you can do for free once you pay your $20 to get your car into the park.

When I viewed the mountain the park was preparing for “Snow Mountain“, a snow festival that runs from mid-November to mid-February. The festival centers around a huge snowtube slide that runs from the museum to the base of the rock. My first thought was that using this key space for that kind of entertainment was nearly sacrilegious, like setting up a bowling alley in The Louvre. But after mulling it a bit, I think I understand. The rock art, while interesting, really only grabs one’s interest for about a minute. A 400-foot snowtube course, on the other hand, can amuse a family for hours. Definitely something that would add to the appeal of the park as a destination.

The park is open year-round, but I got the impression that this time of year is its off season. When we arrived at the campground it was probably no more than 25% full. The Native American Pow-Wow was attracting some visitors (see my previous post), but the rest of the attractions were desolate. How many people do you see at the train station or the theater in my photos above? None. And the adventure course was closed, as were all of the refreshment stations. I walked through the museum hallway to the gift shop (also empty) and saw no one except for a very bored guard who was struggling to stay awake. Almost spooky.

So Disney World it’s not.

Maybe that is a good thing.