Day Trips to Stone Mountain and Kennesaw Mountain

Living in Atlanta the term "scenic view" might mean something different than if you live in Jackson Hole, WY. In a real estate transaction in Atlanta, when you hear the term "scenic view", it typically means a skyline view of Atlanta's tall buildings, versus a view of Grand Teton in Jackson Hole. However if you climb to the top of one of those tall buildings and look east, you will see the largest collection of granite in the world shaped into a mountain appropriately called Stone Mountain. If you look northwest, you will see Kennesaw Mountain which I had never been even close to.

Last week I took the opportunity to take my son to both of those mountains. On Tuesday he had a teacher work day so we ventured out to Stone Mountain for lunch and a trip to the top of the mountain. We took the Gondola up and when we got off, it was like he landed on the moon! He danced, ran around, jumped on rocks over puddles and had a really great time. We attempted to hike back down the mountain and made it about 5 minutes down before duty called and we had to run back up... Overall an excellent trip to an amazing place just minutes outside the city. On December 26th they will open up "Snow Hill" which will be on the lawn where you may or may not have watched the laser show from. From what I can tell it is a snow tubing hill, and you can rest assured we will be back for that!

On Sunday we went with a school friend of Henry's to Kennesaw Mountain. First we ate pizza at the Marietta Pizza Company in Marietta Square which you will undoubtedly recognize if you are familiar with Atlanta pizza. Literally 5 minutes from there we were at the base of the mountain with lots of energy to burn. What an amazing opportunity to get out in the woods for real. It is my understanding that the trail is about 6 miles to the top... but we didn't make it that far and didn't need to. We spent about 2 hours going up and along the way learned why you don't touch a cactus, that leaves are slippery, even though you can climb up a rock, you can also fall back down it, and finally and probably the most fun, there really are caves in the mountains. At the peak of our climb, we found a cave that entertained for a good 30 minutes. Thank goodness Henry was prepared with the tools every kid needs when hiking a mountain. He had a sword, lightsabor, blanket, flashlight and a great friend.

I encourage you to check out the cool places in and around Buckhead and Atlanta. If you are looking for something a little closer, be sure and check out the Blue Heron Nature Preserve across from Pike's Nursery on Roswell Road.

Learn more about Stone Mountain at www.stonemountainpark.org
Learn more about Kennesaw Mountain at www.nps.gov/KEMO/index.htm


Get out there and do something FUN!