by Beth Szczepanski

Created on: November 01, 2008   Last Updated: December 08, 2008

A full day at Atlanta's Stone Mountain Park will leave your children happy, full of exciting stories to tell their classmates and, perhaps more importantly, absolutely exhausted. This unique theme park gives kids a chance to hike, climb a wall, play miniature golf, ride rides and take in a bit of Civil War history all in the midst of gorgeous mountain scenery.

The more athletically-inclined family should definitely check out the Sky Hike, billed as "The nation's largest family adventure course." This attraction features a quarter mile of wobbly suspension bridges to cross, swaying rope nets to climb and teetering boardwalks to brave. Camp Highland Outpost has recently been added to the course at the Sky Hike, and this attraction provides even more chances for your kids to burn off their Lucky Charms sugar buzz with its zip lines, rock walls and ropes courses. Kids will be guaranteed to sleep well the next night as long as they are not too acrophobic to brave the course!

Speaking of acrophobia, the park also features the Summit Sky Ride, a cable car that whisks passengers up to the top of Stone Mountain. Along the way, you can check out the huge images of the Confederate war heroes Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson carved into the world's largest exposed granite monolith. You can introduce your kids to some of the important figures in the American Civil War, and they might not even mind the history lesson since it comes along with an 865-foot high cable car ride.

Your kids can absorb a bit more history at the Crossroads, a model of an 1870 Georgia town. This attraction features glass blowers, blacksmiths and other old-timey craftsmen demonstrating their skills along with souvenir shops and restaurants all decked out with old fashioned decor. You might want to mention to your kids, however, that things were not nearly so fun for most Georgians in the early years of Reconstruction, but this cleaned-up version of post Civil War life does make for a fun family afternoon.

Stone Mountain Park has other attractions your kids might love, such as miniature golf, a laser light show, train rides, "Duck" rides (buses that travel on land and water), and a 4-D theater that features southern-themed and seasonal shows. Spend a full day here and your kids will have plenty of fodder for show and tell when they get home.

Stone Mountain Park is located just east of Atlanta off of Highway 410. Some attractions are closed seasonally, so check ahead to make sure your favorites are open before you set out. While admission to each attraction can be purchased separately, an all-day pass will be more economical in most cases. These cost twenty-five dollars for people over the age of twelve and twenty dollars for kids between three and eleven, and will get you and your kids in to most of the area's attractions.

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