Atlanta with Kids: Geyser Towers at Stone Mountain (and more)

My kids really didn’t know what to expect as we entered Stone Mountain, and we were eager to hit a few of the other spots first.  It was a hot day and we wanted to wait a bit to get wet, which is what happens to any child who enters the Geysers.

With our Adventure Pass (a great deal for a family – $125 for a family of four), we first ventured to  Sky Hike (pictured above), one of the nation’s largest adventure courses, where my children put on a harness and hiked across ropes, poles and climbed higher and higher, sending me into shock mode that my kids are so brave.  This was a highlight of our day, and their view of Atlanta will never be the same again.

Then we took the Summit Skyride to the top of the mountain where I showed them a view of the city I grew up in (pictured above).  We also went to a 4-D showing of  Yogi Bear 4-D Adventure, a film my kids loved, laughed and cooled down to.

There is so much more to do, but we were ready for the Geyser Towers. My kids threw off their clothes, we had planned for their bathing suits underneath, kept their shoes on, and entered the gate to experience the Towers which are literally multiple levels of suspended rope bridges and net tunnels connecting visitors to towering platforms that overlook a gushing geyser.  While climbing through the structure, sporadic eruptions and multiple offshoots of water will splash guests to keep cool, or climbers can challenge themselves to stay high and dry.

What’s also cool about the Geyser Towers, other than the fact that it’s the only installation of its kind in the world and the only one in North America to integrate water features. The other similar structure, located at Sea World Australia, does not include water, is also that it was built with water conservation in mind. Geyser Towers uses a closed loop system that borrows water from the Stone Mountain Lake and does not use county water, similar to the park’s popular Snow Mountain attraction. The water goes through a treatment process making it potable to meet standards suitable for people, similar to swimming pool water.

Here’s the skinny on the Geyser Towers: