Stone Mountain Sunday Afternoon Adventure Hike

IN a NUTSHELL:   Perhaps too often we "take Stone Mountain for granite!"  It has hundreds of acres of gorgeous hiking terrain in addition to its well-traveled Walkup Trail and Cherokee Trail.  The Park rivals almost any other natural area in the country with its spectacular rock formations, beautiful lakes, rare native plants, and abundant birds & wildlife. The mountain has a fascinating human history as well, of which its gigantic Civil War memorial carving is but one part.
  Sunday afternoon's forecast is shaping up to be nice for a winter hike, with expected temperatures in the high 40s, little wind and virtually no chance of rain.  On this leisurely-paced "D3" hike we'll stop often to enjoy the scenery and wildlife while hiking portions of at least NINE different nice trails.  Much of our planned route (more detail below) is only rarely offered by the AOC, and occasionally we'll be off-trail.  Exploring some of these "wilder" places can be fun and exciting for those who have been only on the most popular marked trails.

WHERE & WHEN:  We’ll gather at 1:00 PM in the FREE parking lot of the "Red Caboose" Welcome Center, OUTSIDE THE PARK in the quaint Village of Stone Mountain (detailed directions below).  As pedestrian visitors we'll also have FREE entrance into the Park.

HIKE PLAN:  After introductions we’ll walk 0.3 mile eastward into the Park via the paved "PATH" spur trail.  The orange-blazed Connector Trail will then take us through an old-growth forest to the green-blazed Nature Garden Trail where we'll enjoy displays of native GA wildflowers, trees and shrubs.  Continuing across the road to the Boy Scout camping area, we'll hike a little-known trail around lovely Howell Lake.  The white-blazed Cherokee Trail will then connect us to Stonewall Jackson Drive where we'll walk a short distance up the hill to the former site of the 1996 Olympics Velodrome Cycling and Archery venue.  There we'll enjoy portions of the Songbird Habitat Meadow Trail and Woods Trail - then take a short unmarked creekside trail downhill to the waterfall above Venable Lake. From there we'll continue our counterclockwise trek, often along the shore of Stone Mtn Lake which wraps around the entire east end of the mountain.  We'll visit a variety of fun photogenic spots that are seldom seen on AOC hikes, including the old trainyard with its 95-year-old steam locomotive, the outdoor quarry museum, and the lakeside carillon.  The huge bell tower and its keyboard kiosk were originally built for the 1964-65 NYC World's Fair, then donated to Stone Mtn Park by the Coca-Cola company.  Regular daily bell concerts have been played by volunteer Park organists during the 47+ years since.

  During the 3+ hour event we'll likely hike a total distance of about 7 miles with perhaps 600 feet of total elevation gain.  Along the way we intend to avoid disturbing the flora & fauna and to leave the mountain and its surrounding terrain in better shape than we found it by carrying out bits of trash left by previous hikers.  I'll bring a few small bags along for this "give-back-to-the-Park" group effort.

  We'll target arriving back to our vehicles at the "Caboose" by about 4:30 PM - about 2 hours before dark.  If there's enough interest after the hike, some of us could have dinner together at the "Village Bakery & German Restaurant" in Stone Mountain Village, just a 2-minute drive down Main Street from the Caboose lot.
  We'll allow up to 3 well-behaved dogs on the hike provided they're leashed and under their owners' control at all times.  If you'd like to bring your canine companion please so indicate in your signup notes.

FOR PHOTOS from our Nov 2010 AOC Stone Mountain Adventure Hike:  Go to Marcus Kubota's nice photo album by clicking this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=303112&id=648793487&l=00a69951aa

FOR  MORE ON STONE MOUNTAIN and its TRAILS: Here are three links that might be useful:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Mountain
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/faq/#Recreation
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/images/maps/hiking/smp_map_hiking_map.gif

DIRECTIONS TO OUR MEETING PLACE:
"RED CABOOSE" WELCOME CENTER OUTSIDE the PARK in the Village of Stone Mountain: (You can click on the above Red "Location Teardrop" for a color online map of our exact meeting spot and surrounding area.)

1.  From "Spaghetti Junction" (the I-285/I-85 interchange in NE Atlanta) take "I-285 East" (actually southward) toward Augusta about 4.7 miles.

2.  Take I-285 Exit #39B (bearing Right off I-285 in a clockwise loop).  Merge onto Stone Mountain Pkwy/US-78 E (toward Snellville/Athens), and go about 5.9 miles.

3.  Get off the Parkway toward your Right at Exit #5 (onto the "Memorial Drive/Stone Mountain Bypass").  Go only about 0.6 mile and bear Right again at your first opportunity up the E. Ponce de Leon Ave. access ramp.

4.  At the end of the ramp turn Left onto E. Ponce de Leon Ave. and go 0.5 mile to the first traffic light.

5.  Go through the traffic light bearing slightly rightward onto Main Street, and continue southward for about 0.5 mile (through Stone Mtn village) to the "Red Caboose" Welcome Center and parking lot on your Left.  It's on Main St. just beyond the traffic light at Mimosa Drive.)  

6.  We'll meet here in the FREE PARKING LOT by the Caboose, and in the event that these spaces are filled there is usually plenty of free nearby streetside parking behind the caboose lot, along Main Street, and along other adjoining side streets in Stone Mtn Village.

FOR GPS or CUSTOM DIRECTIONS: The following Street Address or Lat/Lon coordinates of the Caboose Parking Lot may be useful (in conjunction with the above directions) as your entered “Destination” for your vehicle’s GPS navigation system, Google.com/Maps directions from your point of origin, etc.

Street Address of Lot:
891 Main Street, Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Latitude/Longitude Coordinates of Lot:
33.8053,-84.1700

Free Event with Free Parking!