Mountain Park: Impressions

In many ways Mountain Park was what I expected-- the lake, the small houses-- but it surprised me, and I think Elisabeth, in some ways. For the record, Elisabeth took the photo above, with my camera, on a dead-end road that looks down on Lake Cherful. We were in Cherokee County when she snapped the photo. The bridge in the middle ground is in Fulton County.

One surprise was the size of the rural area in which the city lies. When we turned off Holcomb Bridge Road we were in strip mall hell for about five miles, then, when we turned off the four lane and drove a mile toward the east it was all little lanes with the occasional house. It took us a few minutes to find the city in this mini-semi-wilderness.

The area was more hilly than Pine Lake. We were about 30 feet above the lake when Elisabeth snapped the photo above-- and note this hillock at the north end of Lake Garrett:

The hillock marked the north end of a steep ridge that ran along the east side of Lake Garrett:

We were surprised by lack of access to the lakes. This great walkway...

...led from this bridge that divides Lake Garrett (foreground) from Lake Cherful (background)...

... only to dead end at the ridge.

Unlike Pine Lake, Lakes Garrett and Cherful have limited access. There were no visible trails along the ridge, and a similar ridge on the western side of Lake Garrett was private property and there were no trails.

The main area of access was a green space near the city hall:

Love the gazebo!

There were no houses along the east side of Lake Garrett. While houses were hidden among the trees on the west side, access to the lake would require a steep descent.

In contrast, the homes along Lake Cherful had great access:

 I love this little house:

Mountain Park has lots of small (original) homes...

... but there are quite a few upscale homes, too...

... some very much so:

So there you have it, Pine Lake's sister city, of sorts.

Like Pine Lake, Mountain Park is bucolic, a bit of country in an otherwise urban landscape. It must be a pleasant place to live.