NEED TO KNOW
LOCATION Stone Mountain is in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia
HEIGHT 825 ft (251 m)
BASE CIRCUMFERENCE
Around 5 miles (8 km)
DAYTIME TEMPERATURES
Jan: 43°F (6°C); Apr: 62°F (16°C) Jul: 77°F (26°C); Oct: 63°F (17°C)
Stone Mountain, a beautifully rounded, immense piece of exposed granite, is a geological wonder, the centerpiece of Stone Mountain Park and the most popular tourist attraction in the state of Georgia. The rock was created underground 300 million years ago during the formation of the Appalachian Mountains. Friction from the shifting crust of the earth caused the rock to melt, and as it cooled, it hardened again, only to lie beneath the surface for millions of years before being exposed in the form we see today. Originally called New Gibraltar, the rock was renamed Stone Mountain in 1847. On the side of the mountain is the world’s largest bas-relief, a memorial depicting three Confederate leaders of the US Civil War on horseback. The sculpture is the size of three football fields and in the summer becomes the backdrop for an evening laser show. The top of the mountain can be reached by a steep, 1.3-mile (2-km) footpath or by an aerial tramway.
Practical Information
Getting There The best way to see Stone Mountain is to rent a car in Atlanta and head east along Highway 78 for 16 miles (26 km) to the park entrance.
When to Go You can visit at any time of year, although the best weather is between March and October.