We
arrived in Atlanta, GA at the beginning of June 2003 for a
family event. We chose Stone
Mountain Campground as our base, since it's the closest
campground to Atlanta. We had to do a fair amount of driving
to and from different parts of Atlanta, but enojoyed the city's
shopping and restaurants. Atlanta is a thriving city and has
lots to offer visitors, whatever you're into.
About:
The
closest park to Atlanta, Stone
Mountain State Park also happens to be Georgia's largest
campground. The park itself is huge, it covers over 3200 acres
and includes an amusement park, a golf course and club, several
hotels, restaurants and museums. It is also known for a giant
bas-relief carving of the heros of the Confederacy -- Jefferson
Davis, Robert E Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson. During
the summer there is a fireworks and laser show on the mountain
nightly, and weekly free concerts.
We'd
definitely rate the amusement park as a "C" level
park. The attractions are minimal but there is lots of junk
to buy and eat. You can take a train ride around the mountain
which includes a five minute "play" (a term I use
very loosely here) and there is a tram ride up to the top of
the mountain which is the largest solid piece of granite in
the world.
The
campground has a small store that carries essentials but not much
else. There are a couple of vending machines as well, but the
highlight during the summer is the complimentary coffee and Krispy
Kreme donuts in the main tent area every morning starting at 7:30
a.m.
The
park is about 25 minutes away from Atlanta, but there is a Walmart
and Target nearby for groceries and "downtown" Stone
Mountain Village has a couple of restaurants and a dry cleaners.
There is also a major shopping strip nearby on Route 10E with
most every chain store and restaurant, as well as some very
cool Jamaican restaurants and a great reggae music store.
Local
haunts:
We
were told to avoid the restaurants in the amusement park, advice
we did not heed, so we are now letting you know that it is not
worth eating in the park. There is, however, a very good restaurant
at the golf club near the campground, which overlooks Stone
Mountain lake, and a Starbuck's at the Evergreen
Marriott Conference Center.
Where
for art thou WIFI?:
The
Starbuck's at the Evergreen
Marriott Conference Center has wireless internet access,
although it is not T-Mobile. Most of the Starbuck's in the
Atlanta greater area have WIFI though.
Gyms:
There are many gyms in Atlanta, but I did not find one within
easy access of Stone Mountain park. The running and biking trails
are great, but you can't swim in the lake.
We
arrived in Atlanta, GA at the beginning of June 2003 for a
family event. We chose 
The
closest park to Atlanta, 
We'd
definitely rate the amusement park as a "C" level
park. The attractions are minimal but there is lots of junk
to buy and eat. You can take a train ride around the mountain
which includes a five minute "play" (a term I use
very loosely here) and there is a tram ride up to the top of
the mountain which is the largest solid piece of granite in
the world.
The
campground has a small store that carries essentials but not much
else. There are a couple of vending machines as well, but the
highlight during the summer is the complimentary coffee and Krispy
Kreme donuts in the main tent area every morning starting at 7:30
a.m. 
We
were told to avoid the restaurants in the amusement park, advice
we did not heed, so we are now letting you know that it is not
worth eating in the park. There is, however, a very good restaurant
at the golf club near the campground, which overlooks Stone
Mountain lake, and a Starbuck's at the 