Review of Stone Mountain Park & Family Campground in Georgia
Stone Mountain Family Campground is a fun place to visit for your next family vacation. With approximately 450 campsites available, from full hookups for RV’s to primitive tent sites, you are sure to find just the right camp accommodation for your need.
Reservations can be made up to one full year in advance, with one night payable at the time the reservation is made to hold your site. Although they are open year round, only about half of the spaces are available during the winter. Prices are $28 -$31 per night during the off-season from January 1 through March 31. In season rates range from $23 per night for a primitive tent site to $40 per night for a site by the lake with full hookups for an RV. Holiday rates are slightly higher. There is a two night minimum stay and they have a 72-hour cancellation policy.
The camp store has a good supply of camping equipment so if you forget something it may be available in the store. They carry the usual staples such as bread, hot dog buns, milk, and eggs as well as snacks and sodas. You can also get your firewood, fish bait and propane tanks filled.
There is a grill, a fire ring, and a picnic table at each site. A swimming pool, a sand volleyball court, and a playground are also on the grounds. The bathhouses are heated but not air conditioned during the summer. Laundry facilities are located in the bathhouses. Some sites have wireless internet service access, but there is an extra charge for it. Campers have unlimited free use of the water taxi to the other side of the lake, and to the shuttle service provided by the Marriott Hotel to the attractions.
On the weekends in season, there are complimentary donuts and coffee at the pavilion across from the camp store, and religious services on Sunday mornings. The campground provides entertainment and activities, which may be a two-man bluegrass band or just a campfire at the pavilion for anyone who wants to attend.
If your stay at the campground includes plans to visit Stone Mountain Park, get your tickets at the camp store. That is the only place where you will be able to purchase tickets for two days for the price of one. The attractions include the Plantation, Skyride, Treehouse Challenge, Great Barn, 4-D Theater, the Train, Antique Car Museum, The Riverboat, Paddle Boats, the Stone Mountain Museum, and more. Ride the Ducks is a unique trip by land and water in an amphibious vehicle, and worth the extra dollars to add on to your ticket. Oh, and don’t forget about the Waterslide and the Mini Golf Course, which are also included in your attraction ticket. The Laser Show is held nightly with seating on the grass outside the Stone Mountain Museum. All Day Attraction Pass ticket prices range from $13 to $22.
The many shops and souvenir stands provide a place to buy unique items such as iron-sculptured items forged at the on-site blacksmith shop or blown glass items produced at the glass works. There is an old-fashioned candy store where homemade fudge and taffy are made daily. At the candle shop you can dip your own candles in a variety of colors.
There are many places to eat both inside the park and in nearby Snellville. Miss Katie’s is a sit down restaurant in the Crossroads section of Stone Mountain Park. A fried chicken place, a hot dog stand, a hamburger restaurant, and several snack stands are also in Crossroads. In Snellville just outside the gates of the park, the choices range from most every fast food chain to Outback Steaks, and a Chinese buffet. Kroger, Publix, and Wal-Mart are only about two miles away.
If you can’t find enough to do at Stone Mountain Park, there are many places of interest a short distance away in Atlanta. The new Georgia Aquarium is only about 15 miles. Centennial Olympic Park, CNN Center, and the Center for Puppetry Arts are all located in the downtown area of Atlanta. Drive in or hop on Marta at the Kensington Station just off Memorial Drive. Parking is free.
With all this and much more, you will find so much to do at Stone Mountain Family Campground that you’ll not only have a hard time deciding what to do first, you’ll also have a hard time leaving.
