The Lovely Lakes of Stone Mountain: Adventurous 14-Miler w/ free Parking & Park Entrance

IN a NUTSHELL:   Saturday afternoon's weather is expected to be very nice for an adventurous hike:  Partly sunny and in the high 40s and low 50s without much wind.  I urge you experienced hikers who don't mind a bit of a challenge to join me for what will likely be the first-ever "circumnavigation hike" along the shorelines of ALL of Stone Mountain Park's lovely lakes - at least 11 miles total.

  Much of our route has NEVER been hiked before on any AOC event (to my knowledge) and will include several ruggedly steep and indistinct unmarked trails that are not shown on the maps given to Park visitors - also quite a few places where brushy deadfalls, briers, vines, etc. obstruct the trails.  (See more detail below.)  Because of these factors I assign a "D5" difficulty level to this hike - also because its estimated length (about 14 miles) exceeds our usual "D4" max.  Exploring these "wilder" places can be fun and exciting for fit and experienced hikers who have previously hiked only the Park's best-known trails.

  We'll enjoy portions of at least TEN different trails and stop occasionally along the way to observe the scenery and wildlife. Our plan is to stay as close to each lake's shore as possible which will result in amazing aquatic vistas throughout the afternoon.

WHERE & WHEN:  We’ll gather at 12:00 Noon in the FREE parking lot of the "Red Caboose" Welcome Center, OUTSIDE THE PARK! in the quaint Village of Stone Mountain. (See detailed directions below).  As pedestrian Park visitors we'll have FREE entrance via the quarter-mile "PATH" Entrance Trail, similar to NW Atlanta's "Silver Comet."

HIKE PLAN:  I estimate that during our 5+ hours together we'll hike a total distance of at least 11 miles - likely more, esp. if we stick with our hike objective of staying as close to the lakes' jagged shorelines as possible.   As discussed above there are occasional brushy and/or steep spots, but since we'll be close to each lake shore the total of all our uphill elevation gains will likely be only about 1000 vertical feet.  After introductions we’ll hike into the Park from Stone Mtn Village via the half-mile paved "PATH" spur trail.  We'll initially pick up my pre-scouted route via the Boy Scout campground that loops around "Howell Lake" and then eastward to "Venable Lake."  We'll continue to "circumnavigate" in counterclockwise fashion the entire system of lakes in the Park including huge Stone Mountain Lake with its nicely maintained trails in the SE corner of the Park near "Evergreen" and the dam - also the ruggedly beautiful terrain surrounding Stone Mtn Lake's two rarely explored long northern "bays."  We'll also include the pretty wooded trail that surrounds the wetlands and lake just west of the Park's "North Gate" - the other day I enjoyed personally discovering it and pre-hiking it.

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 arriving back to our vehicles by about 5:30 PM.  In case we take a bit longer than my estimated 5.5 hours be assured that we'll have excellent twilight at least through about 6:30 PM and a bright 90%-full moon high above the horizon.

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

MORE ON STONE MOUNTAIN and its TRAILS:   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 park has a fascinating human history as well, of which its gigantic Civil War memorial carving is but one part.  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 SPECIAL MEETING PLACE:
"RED CABOOSE" WELCOME CENTER OUTSIDE the PARK in the Village of Stone Mountain: (For a zoomable color online map & satellite view of our exact meeting spot and its surrounding area click on the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.)

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, 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.  Bear slightly rightward at the light onto Main Street and continue southward through Stone Mtn village for about 0.5 mile to the Red Caboose Welcome Center and parking lot on your Left,   (It's just beyond the traffic light at Mimosa Drive and adjoins the Police Station.)
   
6.  Free parking is normally available near the Caboose, and in the event that these spaces are filled there's more nearby free parking on Main Street and its adjoining side streets in Stone Mtn Village.

GPS or GOOGLE.com/Maps USERS:  To augment the above written directions to our "Caboose Lot" meetup spot, enter as your destination either of the following.
Lat/Lon:              33.8053,-84.1700
Street Address:  891 Main Street, Stone Mountain, GA 30083

Free Event with Free Parking!