Although Atlanta isn’t surrounded by ski and snowboard slopes, there are still a ton of winter activities for locals to enjoy, including galactic snow tubing at Stone Mountain Park.
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While snow tubing has existed at the attraction for a decade, galactic snow tubing is new. The immersive nighttime experience features club music, laser beams and high-powered LED lights as visitors zoom down a 400-feet hill for the ride of their lives.
Want to know what the fun is all about? Here’s what you should know.
It takes months to prepare.
Officials start creating Snow Mountain in September of each year. Builders bring scaffolds and snow to the lawn, which is usually used for the popular laser shows that occur during the spring and summer months.
“It’s quite a feat to get it all engineered and done,” said Jeanine Jones, public relations manager at Stone Mountain Park.
It’s real snow.
The crew starts making snow in October. They pull water from Stone Mountain lake, which is a manmade body of water that isn’t used for drinking. They can produce up 360 tons of it per day and continue to do so through February. As it melts, it drains back into the lake for a completely closed-loop system. “It’s man-made snow, but it’s real manmade snow,” Jones explained.
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The playlist is fun.
The team has selected more than three hours of top 40 contemporary remix music for the evening. The lineup includes several fan favorites, from Sam Smith and Ariana Grande to Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift.
“It’s awesome. It’s like a whole atmosphere. The lights and music get you pumped up, and you can feel everybody’s energy,” Cameron Hartnett said right before going down the hill with his girlfriend.
You can ride down as many times as you want.
For about $30, you can slide down the mountain as many times as you want for two hours. Galactic tubing begins at 5:30 p.m., so when purchasing a ticket, select a session that starts at 4:30 p.m. or later.
It’s truly a winter wonderland.
Snow tubing is not the only fun to be had. There’s a special snow area, where you can make snow angels and igloos all day long. “It’s very magical here just seeing all the snow and the sledding. It reminds me of Colorado going out there skiing,” Alexis Harvey said, who was at the park on a date. “So it’s a different experience here, but it’s really fun.”
If you'd like to speed down Snow Mountain, you have now until Feb. 25 to check it out. Visit accessatlanta.com for more details on hours and tickets.
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