January 2023
It was an overcast cold and chilly Saturday, my daughter and I decided to risk the rain and go for a nice hike for the day.
We headed north of Atlanta for about an hour to Stone Mountain to hike up to the top.
This is the only mountain around for miles and has some pretty good views all over including views of downtown Atlanta off in the distance.
We drove to Stone Mountain Park (information and links below) and headed to the trailhead parking lot where we got prepped to do the hike.
It’s only a mile hike to the top but the 1686′ elevation gain in that one mile is very strenuous at times. It’s a pretty steep hike but the scenery was great and the exercise for good health worth it. Plus I got to hang out with my daughter, that’s always a plus.
We stopped a few times on the way up to take a few breathers, there are parts where you get gassed and out of breath, really makes the heart beat good.
After we got to the top it was cold as heck with the winds and we were pretty tired so we took the tram down then walked around to check everything out then walked back to the parking lot where we had started.
In total we hiked/walked 5+ miles for the day. Good times!
My kid!
There were a few groups of army/marine troops doing the hike, must be really good for conditioning. It looked like there were a bunch of regulars who do this hike – we even saw some people running it, crazy!
This was the steepest part but not difficult, it just takes your breath away a bit on the way up, whew
There was a fair amount of this chiseled graffiti in some places, dating back to the late 1800’s and up to 1976. Some of it was very well done like this one from 1879. Dang thats a lot of effort to go thru to leave their mark. These were some fairly skilled carvers.
That’s downtown Atlanta off in the distance
The top of Stone Mountain. Has a tram depot and small snack business. Other side has pay per view binoculars to see downtown.
The quick tram ride down.
The carving on Stone Mountain
Me and my kiddo
Had a blast hiking and walking around checking out Stone Mountain Park, it’s a nice place. Need to get out hiking more often, we only live once, never forget that. Thanks for reading my blog!
Some information on the park.
Entrance is $20 per car
Tram ride round trip is $20, one way is $15
Park Information
https://www.stonemountainpark.com/
Trail information
https://www.stonemountainpark.com/activities/recreation-golf/walk-up-trail-to-top-of-stone-mountain
Park Maps
https://www.stonemountainpark.com/maps/
Detailed Trail Information
Dave's Travels 