Stone Mountain Park GA.

[RockIsland]

Hello hangers, My family and I are planning a trip to Hilton Head in a few months and want to make a stop in Stone Mountain Park in Georgia. Have any of you ever visited or stayed there? I have convinced my wife to try hammock camping she only has one request. We take the tent for a backup . My thoughts are to get on the Lake side of the park so that it will be a little cooler and quieter vs. the Pool side. My kids are all for it (they have hung before) but my wife is a little apprehensive to say the least. I still need to make bug nets for all 4 hammocks and was thinking of using a light weight fleece blanket for underquilts, will this be enough given it is going to be mid July?

[autolox]

Never been to Stone Mountain but I hope you're taking your bikes with you to HHI....You can park your car and ride everywhere on that island....

Let me know if you want some more local tips - we've gone down there a few times and really like HHI!

[Mongo18]

Stone Mountain is a good site seeing location and for the laser show at dark, i have never camped there simply because im a Firefighter in the county that Stone Mountain is in and just a stones throw from the campsites are not very family friendly areas, full of drugs crime and prostitutes, plus u will here Sirens all night trust me on this one and you will be under the approach path for the airport and hear airplanes all night. Not trying to scare you just FYI

[RockIsland]

Sounds like a great place for a 6yr old and 8yr old. And a good nights sleep before getting up and driving to HHI

[13pt buck]

Stone Mountain is a good site seeing location and for the laser show at dark, i have never camped there simply because im a Firefighter in the county that Stone Mountain is in and just a stones throw from the campsites are not very family friendly areas, full of drugs crime and prostitutes, plus u will here Sirens all night trust me on this one and you will be under the approach path for the airport and hear airplanes all night. Not trying to scare you just FYI

That sums it up pretty good.

[warloc4326]

There are tons of other places to camp in northern GA if you just want to make a stop at stone mountain. I personally have never camped there due to the previous post.

[stevebo]

Yeah, thats not exactly the "good" side of Atlanta! (a couple of years ago we were driving on the highway near there, and my son just had to go to the bath room---I pulled over at the nearest exit, and it was like an episode of COPs was taking place in front of us---definitely the wrong place to stop!--we got back on the highway and kept driving!) Where are you traveling from? I would recommend either staying in a hotel that night, or a Georgia state park. GA state parks are very good, and most of them lock the gates after dark, so its a safe place to stay! Just do a google search for GAstateparks Also, July is really hot and muggy in GA---a fleece should be just fine!

[dakotaross]

Stone Mountain is a good site seeing location and for the laser show at dark, i have never camped there simply because im a Firefighter in the county that Stone Mountain is in and just a stones throw from the campsites are not very family friendly areas, full of drugs crime and prostitutes, plus u will here Sirens all night trust me on this one and you will be under the approach path for the airport and hear airplanes all night. Not trying to scare you just FYI

That sums it up pretty good.

Yeah, thats not exactly the "good" side of Atlanta! (a couple of years ago we were driving on the highway near there, and my son just had to go to the bath room---I pulled over at the nearest exit, and it was like an episode of COPs was taking place in front of us---definitely the wrong place to stop!--we got back on the highway and kept driving!) Where are you traveling from? I would recommend either staying in a hotel that night, or a Georgia state park. GA state parks are very good, and most of them lock the gates after dark, so its a safe place to stay! Just do a google search for GAstateparks Also, July is really hot and muggy in GA---a fleece should be just fine!

I don't want to create enemies here, but I have to say that besides the comment about July being hot and muggy in GA, all other comments above are laughable. I mean, seriously, "driving on the highway near there" is not in the park, and frankly, there aren't many exits that are truly near the park. A "stone's throw" distance from the campground is either a golf course or a lake (if you're interested in skipping stones). And besides, almost all of the park is bordered by residential neighborhoods or forest.

If we're talking inside the park, then I have to say that the comments sound racially motivated. For sure, the minority population (not sure that's technically correct, but let's use that pseudonym for now) has found the park to its liking, but that's mostly for daytime family outings, not the campground in general. I've got a pass to the park and I go out there maybe once a month to climb the mountain or bike, and have camped there twice with my boy over the past year or so.

The fact is that its expensive, but its one of the nicest campgrounds in the Atlanta area (where there aren't many), plus there is a lot of family stuff to do there. In general, I wouldn't camp there because there are plenty of places to camp in N.Ga that I would much prefer, but I have camped there in order to introduce my boy to camping in an environment he was familiar with and somewhat close to home. In terms of the Atlanta area, I can't think of a better campground. If you all know of one, let me know. And I've never heard planes at night there.

Yes, the state parks are great, but let's not make it sound like they are security gated as Stone Mountain Park is - not to mention having they're own police dept as SMP does. The "locked gates" at most state parks only prevent traffic from coming in late at night, whereas SMP only allows traffic that has paid for a permit.

It looks like the negative comments have swayed the OP not to stay there and while that in and of itself is not tragic, I do think that this family was not served well by this forum as a result of what I consider to be false comments.

[Steve D]

I don't want to create enemies here, but I have to say that besides the comment about July being hot and muggy in GA, all other comments above are laughable. I mean, seriously, "driving on the highway near there" is not in the park, and frankly, there aren't many exits that are truly near the park. A "stone's throw" distance from the campground is either a golf course or a lake (if you're interested in skipping stones). And besides, almost all of the park is bordered by residential neighborhoods or forest.

If we're talking inside the park, then I have to say that the comments sound racially motivated. For sure, the minority population (not sure that's technically correct, but let's use that pseudonym for now) has found the park to its liking, but that's mostly for daytime family outings, not the campground in general. I've got a pass to the park and I go out there maybe once a month to climb the mountain or bike, and have camped there twice with my boy over the past year or so.

The fact is that its expensive, but its one of the nicest campgrounds in the Atlanta area (where there aren't many), plus there is a lot of family stuff to do there. In general, I wouldn't camp there because there are plenty of places to camp in N.Ga that I would much prefer, but I have camped there in order to introduce my boy to camping in an environment he was familiar with and somewhat close to home. In terms of the Atlanta area, I can't think of a better campground. If you all know of one, let me know. And I've never heard planes at night there.

Yes, the state parks are great, but let's not make it sound like they are security gated as Stone Mountain Park is - not to mention having they're own police dept as SMP does. The "locked gates" at most state parks only prevent traffic from coming in late at night, whereas SMP only allows traffic that has paid for a permit.

It looks like the negative comments have swayed the OP not to stay there and while that in and of itself is not tragic, I do think that this family was not served well by this forum as a result of what I consider to be false comments.

Dakotaross is spot on. I lived in the shadow of that rock for 22 years growing up (I'm 47...you do the math). I'm a bit further away now but still not too far and we make it over to SMP a couple of times a year. The park itself is still a fun and safe place.

I think the areas some are referring to are along Memorial Drive between the park and I-285. That area is definitely a rough these days but its far enough away that it shouldn't be a deterrent from going to the park and you can get into the park without traveling on Memorial Drive. FWIW I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to take my own family and camp there...

[Cali]

Stone Mountain is a nice destination, and the laser show is great. I camped there, but it was several years ago, so I don't know what it is like now. You can always camp somewhere nearby and then spend the day at Stone Mountain. I think your family will truly enjoy it.