Stone Mountain hike up and down with some different trails

We should have lots of nice views, see some wildlife, and burn some calories on this long, in town hike the weekend before Thanksgiving.

We will meet at the Confederate Hall parking area near the restrooms by the hike up trail at 9:45 AM Saturday morning. This is a long hike so we will start promptly at 10:00 on Saturday. Please call the trip leader if you are running behind. 

We will start the hike by going up and down the mountain using some less known trails. This should provide a very good warm up for the rest of this long hike. We will hike on the section of railroad that is no longer used by trains to get onto the Connector trail. We will take the connector trail to the nature trail, then cross the road and hike on some less known trails through the Youth camp area. We will connect with the Cherokee trail and hike it for a while.

I plan to us to use the Song Bird habitat trail, but there has been some work being done in that area so we will see how that part goes. After the song bird trail we will resume the Cherokee trail for a short while longer then hike on the Evergreen resort trail. We will likely take a break at the evergren resort.

After a potential break we will continue on the Resort trail system returning back to the Cherokee trail. Once we are back on the Cherokee trail we will complete the loop around the mountain on it. This last section of the Cherokee trail is mostly flat from this point to the end. We can take another break by the Grist Mill where there are modern restrooms.

We will see the Stone Mountain rock carvings at the Crossroads, the Grist Mill, the covered wooden bridge, the song bird habitat, many views of the two lakes, the primitive youth campground, the Evergreen resort, the Nature gardens and hopefully some wildlife like deer, turtles, likely a Blue Heron, a few small nice waterfalls, birds, and other nice folks enjoying this wonderful park.

We will hike at a moderate pace and stay together and regroup at trail and road crossings. We can take some short breaks to rest and enjoy. There is one short section that is somewhat steep and challenging so wear very good hiking footwear.

This event will be rain or shine unless severe weather is forcast.

Directions To Confederate Hall Parking Lot: Note there is a fee to enter the park. You can buy an annual pass. You can parking in Stone Mountain Village and walk about one mile to get to the starting place for free. Just please allow extra time for the extra walking. To the main entrance- From I-285 take U.S. Hwy 78 East (Snellville/Athens) exit. Travel about 7 miles and take Exit 8, the Stone Mountain Park Main Entrance. After entering the main entrance, proceed straight ahead. The road will fork at about 1 mile - stay to the right. Continue to follow the road for another mile. Confederate Hall will be on your left. (Careful - there's a stop sign in front of Confederate Hall for those entering the West Gate.) The parking lot will be immediately after. Wait for the group near the walk up trail. MARTA PARK & RIDE LOT Free public parking in Stone Mountain Village From Hwy 78 take exit 5 - stay right for a half mile - then a quick exit to E. Ponce/Stone Mtn. Village. At the end of the ramp turn left. Drive a mile or so into town. Turn left on East Mountain. Turn right on Fourth Street. There you will find the MARTA park and ride.

There is a parking fee of about $15 for one day parking or you can get an annual pass.

We will cancell this event if the weather prediction warrants.