Stone Mountain After-work Adventure Hike: Meet OUTSIDE Park.

IN a NUTSHELL:  Some rain is expected on Sunday and early on Monday, but it's expected to dry out by Monday evening, with only a few clouds remaining.  The terrain conditions should be adequate at Stone Mountain Park for this after-work "Adventure Hike" and we can adjust our route accordingly if portions of the mountain happen to be wet or slick.
  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. The mountain has a fascinating human history as well, of which its gigantic memorial carving is but one part.

  On this partly-off-trail hike hike we'll explore a few of the Park's little-known scenic spots.  Visiting some of these "wilder" places on the mountain can be fun for those who have hiked thus far only on the most popular and well known marked trails.  This event is suitable only for experienced hikers who feel  comfortable on rugged and steeply inclined rocky surfaces.
  We'll plan to take a moderate pace, stopping often to regroup and to observe and photograph the craggy scenery, wild critters and flowering plants.  Despite the casual pace we'll still at times get in a good aerobic workout on the uphill climbs.  Although I don't consider the hike to be particularly dangerous or strenuous, there may be a few climbs over large boulders and other steep spots along the way where a slip could potentially result in injury. I classify the hike as a "D3" event because of these "special considerations" that may affect our individual safety, and prefer that if you sign up for this event you have a good deal of previous experience climbing and descending in a variety of steep rocky terrain.

WHERE & WHEN:  We’ll gather at 6:00 PM in the parking lot beside the "Red Caboose" Welcome Center, OUTSIDE THE PARK! in the Village of Stone Mountain.  We'll have FREE parking (detailed directions below) and FREE entrance into the Park via the quarter-mile "PATH" entrance Trail, similar to the Silver Comet.

HIKE PLAN:  After introducing one another we’ll hike into the Park (from the Red Caboose) at about 6:15 PM —initially eastward via the half-mile paved "PATH" spur trail. Our expected total hike distance will be about 5 miles, with elevation gains in our uphill portions totaling perhaps 800 vertical feet.
  On our itinerary will be the spectacular moonlike shoulders of the mountain that face Atlanta and Snellville, a rugged old granite quarrying area, and the Park's retired antique wood-burning locomotive.
  Along the way we intend to avoid disturbing the flora or fauna and to leave the mountain and its surrounding terrain in even better shape than we find it by picking up and carrying out some of the bits of trash left by previous hikers.  I'll bring a few small bags along for this worthy AOC "spruce-up" effort.
  We'll target getting back to our vehicles at the "Caboose" a bit before dark, at about 9:00 PM.

2010 PHOTOS of our similar AOC Stone Mountain "Adventure Hike":  For Marcus Kubota's nice photo album of our November "Stone Mtn Scramble" (including the above "promo" shot) use this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php? aid=303112&id=648793487&l=00a69951aa
 

FOR MORE on STONE MOUNTAIN, here are three more links that might be of interest:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Mountain
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/faq/#Recreation
http://www.stonemountainpark.com/images/maps/hikin g/smp_map_hiking_map.gif
 

DIRECTIONS TO OUR SPECIAL MEETING PLACE:
The "RED CABOOSE" WELCOME CENTER PARKING LOT, OUTSIDE the PARK in the Village of Stone Mountain - Click on the above rectangular Blue & Green "LOCATION ICON" for a zoomable map & aerial view of this exact spot and its 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. At Exit #5 bear Right onto the Memorial Drive/Stone Mountain Bypass (GA-10W).  Follow it straight ahead to the 1st traffic light at "JBR Memorial Drive. (En route, AVOID the exit ramp to E. Ponce de Leon.)

4. Turn Left at the traffic light onto J.B.R. Memorial Drive and go 0.5 mile to Ridge Ave. (just before the underpass).

5. Turn Right onto Ridge Ave. and go 0.3 mile to the 3rd 4-way stop sign at Mimosa Drive.

6. Turn Left onto Mimosa Drive and go just 0.1 mile to Main Street.

7.  Turn Right onto Main Street and then almost immediately turn Left into the  "Red Caboose" Welcome Center and parking lot.

8.  Free parking is normally available there by the Caboose, where we'll gather for the hike. In the unlikely event that all these spaces are filled there's usually plenty of free parking space on the streets nearby in Stone Mtn Village.

GPS or Google.com/Maps USERS: You may wish to augment the above directions by entering as your destination the following Street Address of the Caboose lot or its Lat/Lon coordinates:

891 Main Street, Stone Mountain, GA 30083
33.8053,-84.1700

RETURN to ATLANTA: After the hike it's easy to return to the Stone Mtn Freeway (US-78) via this shortcut: From the Caboose take Main Street northward through Stone Mtn Village about 0.5 mile to the 3rd traffic light.  Bear slightly leftward here onto E. Ponce de Leon Ave, go another 0.5 mile and turn Right onto the US-78 connector.  Then if you're heading toward Atlanta (via US-78 West) go about another 0.5 mile, and bear leftward to loop onto the Freeway.

Free Event with Free Parking!