Stone Mountain Park is the most visited park in Georgia. It is located about 45 minutes outside of Atlanta, on a clear day you can see the Atlanta skyline from the top of the mountain. It is also the largest exposed quartz rock in the world! The park itself has many attractions but due to covid the only thing open are its trails. To our delight when we arrived there was hardly anybody there. The day started off rainy but the rain stopped and was just overcast and very foggy. Walking up the mountain is the most popular trail outside of the Cherokee Trail that loops around the base of the rock. We decided to do both, starting with the walk-up the mountain. This walk was pretty challenging in a good way. The fog and exposed rocks added alot of dramatic views. Walking up the rock, there were many carvings, some old, some new, holes and rocks piled on top of other rocks-it was pretty cool. At one point the walk becomes so steep that there are railings to hold on. You know you have reached the top (even on a very foggy day) because there is a house on the top of the rock. When it's open there is a restaurant and gift shop inside. The descend was harder than the climb because it had rained the rock was very slippery. We slowly decesded and made our way to the Cherokee Trail. Unfortunately due to the wet/slippery conditions we were unable to complete the entire trail but did make good traction on the trail and saw some beautiful forest under the large rock. Before leaving we also made it a point to see the Carving of the Generals (Robert E. Lee, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and President Jefferson Davis on their horses Blackjack, Traveller & Little Sorrel). This carving is massive and quite impressive, as big as a football field and larger than Mount Rushmore. The elements have clearly taken its toll on it, and even though it's huge, it looks small as you step back and see it on the mountain as a whole.
Stone Mountain is truly a remarkable landmark. Unless you see it in person it is really hard to imagine how massive it is, it really takes your breath away when you first lay eyes on it.
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