Stone Mountain Midday Bike n' Hike: Meet OUTSIDE Park!

OVERVIEW:  The beautiful "Indian summer" weather this week should be perfect for a combo "Bike n' Hike" this Thursday at Stone Mountain.  The event will be suitable for rider/hikers of all experience levels and bicycles of all styles.  We intend to ride about 6 miles (primarily on asphalt/concrete bikeways & roadways) and hike about 2 miles, taking a moderate pace and stopping occasionally to regroup and enjoy and photograph the scenery.  We suggest that you have a light lunch and hydrate well before the event and bring a couple of light snack items with you to munch on along the way. 
  We'll have FREE parking in the Village of Stone Mountain (see below) and FREE entrance into the Park via the half-mile "PATH" paved "Village Bikeway," similar to the Silver Comet. The Park offers a variety of paved bike lanes and asphalted roadways (suitable for bikes of all kinds) that make for interesting scenic riding loops—also numerous scenic hiking trails.
  If you have (or can borrow) a road-style bike, mountain bike or perhaps an inexpensive “hybrid,” by all means pump up those tires and join us.  If you normally use special "clip-in" or hard-sole biking shoes, then bring some light walking shoes (in a pannier or daypack) to change into for our hiking portion of the event.
 Our HIKING will be primarily on the "Songbird Habitat" network of trails. 

WHERE & WHEN:  We’ll gather with our bikes at 12:30 PM at the "RED CABOOSE" Welcome Center, OUTSIDE THE PARK in the Village of Stone Mountain—detailed directions below.  Look for me (Charlie) with my hybrid bike, wearing a white Atlanta Outdoor Club T-shirt and with a maroon bicycle helmet.

RIDE & HIKE PLAN:  After introducing one another, signing our AOC waiver forms, and making sure that all our bikes are road-ready we’ll depart the "Red Caboose" at about 12:45 PM and ride eastward into the Park via the half-mile paved "PATH" spur trail.  When we reach Robt. E. Lee Blvd we'll take a right and explore mainly the area on the west side of the mountain including a hike in the Songbird Habitat area, which in the 1996 Olympics was in fact the site of the venues for archery and velodrome bicycling!
  We'll stop occasionally along the route to regroup, adjust clothing, hydrate, and enjoy and photograph the scenery & wildlife, and may visit a couple of the "less-traveled" places in the Park.  We can expect to be back at the "Caboose" by about 2:30 PM.

EVENT OPTIONS:  Feel free to split from the group whenever you like, but please let the AOC ride leader(s) know if and when you're splitting.  If you'd like a more strenuous workout feel free to continue biking or hiking inside or outside the park.  The park's scenic hiking trails include its Walk-Up Trail to the summit, the Cherokee Trail around the mountain, the Songbird Habitat Trails, and Nature Garden Trail. 
   If there's enough interest after the ride we may regroup for refreshments at a spot near the Caboose on Main Street or at the "Village Corner German Restaurant, Bakery & Tavern" in Stone Mtn Village (corner of Main St. and Memorial Drive).

FOR MORE ON STONE MOUNTAIN PARK here are a couple of nice links:
http://www.StoneMountainPark.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Mountain
Perhaps too often we Georgians "take Stone Mountain for granite!"  It rivals almost any other natural area in the country with its spectacular rock formations, beautiful lakes, rare native plants, and abundant birds & wildlife—has a fascinating human history as well, of which its gigantic memorial carving is but one part. 

DIRECTIONS TO OUR 12:30 PM MEETING PLACE:  The "Red Caboose" Welcome Center OUTSIDE the Park in the Village of Stone Mountain:

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 in a clockwise loop).  Merge onto Stone Mountain Pkwy/US-78 E (toward Snellville/Athens), and go about 5.9 miles.

3) At Exit #5 bear Right onto the Memorial Drive/Stone Mountain Bypass, and go only about 0.6 mile-- then bear Right again at your first opportunity up the E. Ponce de Leon Ave. access ramp.

4) Turn Left onto E. Ponce de Leon Ave. and go 0.5 mile to the first traffic light.

5) Continue straight ahead at the light onto Main Street and go another 0.5 mile (through Stone Mtn village) to the "Red Caboose" Welcome Center and parking lot on your Left (just beyond the RR track crossing at Mimosa Drive).  We'll meet at 12:30 PM beside the Red Caboose.  Free parking is available in public areas adjoining the caboose, and if these spaces are filled, there are many more free spaces in the nearby "MARTA Park & Ride" lot in Stone Mtn Village.

NEED MAP or CUSTOM DIRECTIONS? If you'd like a map or directions from your specific point of departure, go to Google.com/maps and in the "Search Maps" window enter:

   891 Main Street, Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Then click on "Search Maps," "Get Directions," enter your personal "Start Address, and click the grey "Get Directions" box.

Free Event with Free Parking!