Stone Mountain Park
Atlanta
The carving on the face of Stone Mountain just outside Atlanta could have been the original Mount Rushmore. It’s bigger than Mount Rushmore, at least in surface area, and the artist who later went on to carve Mount Rushmore was the first sculptor to begin work on the Confederate Memorial Carving in 1923.
But after years of disputes and depleted funds, the unfinished carving was left untouched for more than 40 years. The state of Georgia bought the mountain and the surrounding 3,200 acres in 1958, and work resumed on the carving in 1964. This time, crews had new technology: thermo-jet torches.
“They were able to carve in the granite almost like it was butter because of those thermo-jet torches,” said Jeanine Jones, the park’s public relations manager. “It’s much more artistic and detailed and smooth than it would have been.”
The carving shows three Civil War Confederate heroes: President Jefferson Davis, Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The carving was dedicated in May 1970, although work on it continued until 1972.
One of the best ways to view the bas-relief sculpture is also one of the “must-do” attractions at the park: the Summit Skyride. Each 80-person cable car glides above the carving, giving passengers an up-close view, and the summit offers views of the Atlanta skyline and the North Georgia Mountains.
Visitors can also take advantage of the park’s natural attractions, which include hiking trails and fishing at Stone Mountain Lake, or commercial attractions such as Ride the Ducks and the train.
The park holds festivals and events throughout the year, but its signature event is the Lasershow Spectacular, which runs from spring to fall. The 45-minute laser light show is projected onto the mountain carving, and the finale includes fireworks.
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
Corbin, Kentucky
Cumberland Falls is naturally a highlight of Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, which is about 20 miles southwest of Corbin in south-central Kentucky. Although the falls have been there since time immemorial, the park is as old as the Kentucky State Parks department.
“The park system began in 1924, and Cumberland Falls was in with that first grouping, so it’s been a park for a long time,” said LaDonna Miller, director of sales and marketing for Kentucky State Parks.
What makes the falls impressive isn’t its height but instead its power, earning it the nicknames Little Niagara and Niagara of the South, said Bret Smitley, a naturalist with the park. The falls are only about 68 feet high, but at 125 feet wide, about 3,600 cubic feet of water spill over them every second.
The falls are also one of only a handful of places in the world where visitors can experience a “moonbow,” a rainbow created by moonlight, Smitley said. On clear nights with a full or nearly full moon, the white moonlight creates pale lunar rainbows in the falls’ mist.
At the falls, visitors will find picnic shelters, a gift shop and a snack shop, and groups can arrange for naturalists to provide talks or guided tours, Miller said.
The park also organizes special events and programming, such as photography competitions, storytelling festivals, a Native American festival, guided hikes and naturalist talks, Smitley said.
