Monadnock Madness Directions

DIRECTIONS TO INITIAL “STONE MTN EDUCATION ANNEX” PARKING LOT from the I-285/I-85 “SPAGHETTI JUNCTION” INTERCHANGE in NE ATLANTA:  This “Education Annex” lot is outside the “West Gate” of Stone Mountain Park in the Village of Stone Mtn.

1.  From “Spaghetti Junction” (the I-285/I-85 interchange in NE Atlanta) take “I-285 East” (actually southward – toward “Augusta”) about 4.7 miles.

2.  Take I-285 Exit #39B (bearing Right off I-285 in a clockwise loop).  Merge onto Stone Mountain Pkwy/US-78 E (toward Snellville/Athens), and go about 5.9 miles.

3.  Get off the Parkway toward your right at Exit #5 (onto the Memorial Drive/Stone Mountain Bypass).  Go only about 0.6 mile and bear Right again at your first opportunity up the E. Ponce de Leon Ave. access ramp.

4.  At the end of the ramp turn Left onto E. Ponce de Leon Avenue and go 0.5 mile to the first traffic light (on the north side of Stone Mtn Village).

5.  Turn Left at the traffic light onto James B. Rivers Memorial Drive (avoiding the sharper left onto “Silver Hill Rd”), go about 0.4 mile, and look for a large parking lot on your left, across the street from the GA Forestry Commission office.  There should be a sign here that says “Education Annex,” and it’s only about 300 yards outside the Stone Mountain Park “West Gate.”

6.   “Monadnock Madness” hikers will gather in this Parking Lot at 10:00 AM.  We may park here for free during the Stone Mtn portion of the event. As pedestrians we’ll also have free admission into the Park via the nearby West Gate.

FOR GPS or CUSTOM DIRECTIONS: The following “dummy” Street Address and Lat/Lon coordinates of the “Annex” lot entrance may be useful (in conjunction with the above directions) as your entered “Destination” for your vehicle’s GPS or for Google.com/maps custom directions, etc.

6820 James B. Rivers Memorial Drive, Stone Mountain, GA 30083    Lat/ Lon: 33.8128,-84.1641

“Monadnock Madness” hikers will caravan or carpool together in our vehicles to the other two parks (at about 12:30 PM from Stone Mtn to Arabia, and at about 3:00 PM from Arabia to Panola).

DIRECTIONS from STONE MTN “WEST GATE” VICINITY to DAVIDSON-ARABIA MOUNTAIN NATURE CENTER (~12 miles SE of Stone Mtn, near Lithonia):

1. Drive west (away from Stone Mtn Park) on  James B. Rivers Memorial Drive about 0.4 mile to the traffic light at Main Street (a.k.a. E. Ponce de Leon).

2. Turn Left onto Main Street and go ~5.4 miles southward to Phillips Road (Main Street’s name changes to “Stone Mtn Lithonia Road” soon after you leave Stone Mtn Village.)

3. Turn Right onto Phillips Rd and go ~2.1 miles.     

4. Turn Left onto GA-12 E/ US-278 E/ Covington Hwy and go ~1.5 mile.          

5. Turn Right onto Klondike Rd and go ~2.5 miles. The Nature Center and its free parking lot are on the right side of Klondike Rd, only about 0.3 mile beyond the traffic circle at Rockland Rd.       

ARABIA NATURE CTR PARKING LOT  LAT/ LON for GPS, etc:  33.6724,-84.1160

DIRECTIONS from DAVIDSON-ARABIA MTN NATURE CENTER to PANOLA MTN STATE PARK NATURE CENTER (~6 miles NE of Arabia Mtn):

1. From the Arabia Nature Center lot, turn Right onto Klondike Rd and go ~4.3 miles to Alexander Lake Rd. (Klondike Road’s name changes to “Flat Bridge Rd” about a mile before you reach Alexanders Lake.)

2. Turn Left onto Alexanders Lake Rd and go about 1.5 miles to Snapfinger Rd.

3.  Turn Right onto Snapfinger Rd and go just 0.l mile to Panola Mtn State Park on your right.

4.  Turn Right through the stone entrance walls into Panola Mtn State Park. (The usual $5 daily parking fee must be paid for each car.) Continue past the entrance ~0.3 mile to the far end of the parking lots.  The Panola Nature Center is behind some trees on your right.  We’ll meet here for the Panola Mtn summit hike.
PANOLA NATURE CTR PARKING LOT  LAT/ LON for GPS, etc:  33.6249,-84.1712

DIRECTIONS to I-285/ I-20 INTERCHANGE, etc. from PANOLA MTN STATE PARK:

1. Turn Right onto Snapfinger Rd from the Panola main entrance gate and go ~7.0 miles to Wesley Chapel Rd.

2.  Turn Right at the traffic lignt onto Wesley Chapel and go about  0.3 mile bearing left over the I-20 bridge.

3.  Turn Left onto I-20 West and go about 1 mile to reach the I-20/I-285 Interchange (on Atlanta’s east side).

4.  To reach the I-285/I-85 “Spaghetti Jcn” interchange bear Right onto I-285 and go ~12 miles northward.