The Stone Mountain Highland Games & Scottish Festival runs October 16-18, 2026, with the main games at Stone Mountain Park on Saturday and Sunday and adult gate admission at $22.50 in advance or $25 at the door.
Now in its 54th year, it describes itself as one of the premier Scottish festivals in the US: pipe bands, Scottish athletics, Highland dancing competitions, clan tents and vendors, all inside Stone Mountain Park.
This guide covers what’s confirmed for 2026 from the Games’ own site, what’s separate from Stone Mountain Park’s regular parking pass, and how to plan a visit with kids around the noise of the athletics field and the crowds around the clan tents.
Stone Mountain Park sits about 16 miles east of downtown Atlanta, according to the park, via US-78 East. If you’re comparing October weekends, see our guides to the Stone Mountain Pumpkin Festival (a different event, running most of the fall inside the same park) and Dahlonega Gold Rush Days, which falls on the same October 17-18 weekend an hour north.
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What does it cost? | Games admission (Sat. & Sun.) is $22.50 per adult in advance or $25 at the gate. Children 12 and under are free with an accompanying adult. |
| When is it? | October 16-18, 2026. Friday events are off-site at a hotel; the main Games run Saturday and Sunday at Stone Mountain Park. |
| How long should we budget? | 3-5 hours to see the athletics field, clan tents, and a dance or piping performance. |
| Is Stone Mountain Park’s parking pass included? | No. Games admission and the park’s daily parking/entry fee are billed separately — budget for both. |
| What about the Friday events? | A ticketed Whisky Seminar & Tasting ($40, adults only) and other Friday programming happen off-site at a hotel, separate from the family-oriented Saturday-Sunday games. |
| Is there an evening event? | Yes, but not in the park: the Saturday 8 p.m. Scottish Evening Ceilidh is held in the ballroom of the Games’ host hotel, the Hilton Atlanta Northeast (social dance, $15, open to all ages). |
| Are dogs allowed? | No. The Games’ site says: “No pets allowed on grounds, no facilities provided for pets” (checked ). |
What are the Highland Games, exactly?
The Stone Mountain Highland Games & Scottish Festival is an annual celebration of Scottish heritage held inside Stone Mountain Park, combining athletic competition with music, dance, and clan culture. The athletics side is the visual centerpiece: heavy events like the caber toss (flipping a full tree trunk end over end) and the hammer throw, contested by invited athletes in kilts.
Around that, clan tents represent Scottish family names and histories, pipe bands compete and perform on the main parade field, Highland dancers compete before judges, and there is Scottish country dancing, fiddling, and vendors selling goods imported from the British Isles. It draws both a serious competitive crowd and a much larger family audience there simply to watch, eat, and browse.
Dates, schedule, and how the weekend is structured
The Games’ own site confirms October 16-18, 2026. The weekend is split: Friday programming, including a ticketed Whisky Seminar & Tasting at 2:30 p.m. ($40, adults only), a professional piping competition and free talks, happens off-site at the host hotel, the Hilton Atlanta Northeast.
The main event most families come for is Saturday and Sunday at Stone Mountain Park, where the games run 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days (the field opens at 8 a.m.): athletics, clan tents, vendors and performance stages all day.
A Saturday Night Ceilidh, a traditional social dance, caps off Saturday at 8 p.m. for a separate $15 ticket, but it is held at the host hotel, not in the park. The Games note that schedules are subject to change.
Admission, and how it’s separate from Stone Mountain Park’s own fees
Games admission for Saturday and Sunday runs $22.50 per adult if bought in advance, $25 at the gate, with children 12 and under free when accompanied by a paying adult. That ticket gets you into the Highland Games festival area.
It is a separate charge from Stone Mountain Park’s own daily parking and entry fee, which applies to the park generally (see our full Stone Mountain Park guide for current parking pass pricing) — budget for both the Games ticket and the park’s own gate fee, not just one.
The Games site also references an annual park pass available at a discount with a promo code, which is worth checking if you’re planning multiple Stone Mountain visits this fall, including the park’s own Pumpkin Festival, which runs concurrently through early November.
A few logistics from the Games’ site: all events run rain or shine with no refunds; shuttles run from the park’s outer parking lots starting at 10 a.m. (Saturday service ends at 5:30 p.m.); wheelchair access is at the lower gate; and a Tartan Taxi service is available for guests with limited mobility.
Is it a good fit for kids?
Yes, with some noise and crowd caveats. Kids 12 and under get in free with a paying adult, and the Games run a dedicated Wee Laddies and Lassies area with kid-sized Scottish athletics (caber toss, stone, weight and hammer throws, sheaf toss), games like the Haggis Hurl and archery, crafts, and face painting.
The athletics field itself gets loud with announcer commentary and crowd reaction to big throws, and pipe band performances are, by design, loud; if you have a noise-sensitive toddler, watch from the edges of the crowd rather than right at the rope line.
The clan tents and vendors are calmer, self-paced browsing, good for a break between louder performances. Expect some walking between the athletics field, tents, and stages; a stroller is reasonable for younger kids on the park’s meadows and tree-lined paths.
The Saturday Night Ceilidh
A ceilidh (pronounced “KAY-lee”) is a traditional Scottish social dance with live music and caller-led group dances that don’t require any prior experience. The Games list the Saturday Night Ceilidh at 8 p.m. in the ballroom of the host hotel, the Hilton Atlanta Northeast, at $15 with all welcome, so it’s a lower-key indoor option if your family wants to extend the day. Plan the drive from the park.
What to wear and what to bring
Mid-October at Stone Mountain typically means mild days and cool evenings, so layers make sense, especially if you’re staying through early evening for the ceilidh.
Much of the festival grounds are outdoors and grass-covered, so closed-toe shoes hold up better than sandals, and a blanket or folding chairs are worth bringing if you want to sit and watch the athletics competitions rather than stand at the rope line for hours. Sunscreen matters for a midday visit even in October, since the field areas are largely unshaded.
Best time to go
Both Saturday and Sunday run the full festival, so if you want to avoid the single biggest crowd day, Sunday tends to be calmer than Saturday at most weekend festivals of this size, and Sunday also skips the evening ceilidh crowd since that’s a Saturday-only ticket.
Mornings are cooler and less crowded than midday; the heavy athletics events (the biggest draw for most first-time visitors) typically run throughout the day rather than clustering at one time, so arriving by late morning still catches the main competitions.
Planning around it
Since the Highland Games and Dahlonega Gold Rush Days both fall on the October 17-18 weekend in 2026, families near Atlanta have a real choice between a Scottish heritage festival about 16 miles from downtown or a North Georgia mountain-town street festival about an hour north — see our Dahlonega Gold Rush Days guide for that comparison.
If you want the fuller picture of everything happening around Georgia this fall, our Fall in Georgia month-by-month guide lays out the whole season, and our Georgia Attraction Transparency Index looks at how clearly Georgia attractions publish their pricing — relevant here, since several of the Highland Games’ add-on prices (parking specifics, the Friday whisky event capacity) weren’t fully published at the time of writing.
Dates and prices in this guide come from the Stone Mountain Highland Games’ own site (smhg.org) as of mid-September 2026. The Games note that schedules are subject to change, so confirm specific event times and any additional add-on pricing closer to October.
FAQ
When are the 2026 Stone Mountain Highland Games?
October 16–18, 2026. Friday events are at the host hotel, the Hilton Atlanta Northeast; the main Games run Saturday and Sunday, October 17–18, at Stone Mountain Park, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (field opens 8 a.m.).
How much are Stone Mountain Highland Games tickets?
Games admission for Saturday and Sunday is $22.50 per adult in advance or $25 at the gate. Children 12 and under get in free with a paying adult.
Is Stone Mountain Park parking included in the Highland Games ticket?
No. The Games ticket and Stone Mountain Park’s own daily parking fee are separate charges, so budget for both.
Can you bring a dog to the Stone Mountain Highland Games?
No. The Games’ site says no pets are allowed on the grounds.
Where is the Highland Games ceilidh?
At the host hotel, not in the park: the Saturday Night Ceilidh is at 8 p.m. in the Hilton Atlanta Northeast ballroom, $15, open to all ages.
How we checked this guide: Dates, hours, admission and parking prices, and access details were verified against the official sources listed below on . Operators change schedules and raise prices without notice, so confirm anything time-sensitive before you drive. The figures in this guide also feed our Georgia Attraction Transparency Index and Family Day-Out Cost Index.
Sources
- Stone Mountain Highland Games: home page (2026 dates, venue, 54th year, pets, shuttle, wheelchair access, rain or shine)
- Stone Mountain Highland Games: tickets (Games admission, children free, whisky seminar, ceilidh, park pass separate)
- Stone Mountain Highland Games: Friday schedule (host hotel events)
- Stone Mountain Highland Games: Saturday schedule (9 a.m.-5 p.m., ceilidh at the host hotel)
- Stone Mountain Highland Games: Sunday schedule (9 a.m.-5 p.m.)
- Stone Mountain Highland Games: children’s activities
- Stone Mountain Highland Games: athletics (invited athletes, caber toss)
- Stone Mountain Park: Adventure Outpost (“16 miles from downtown Atlanta”)
- Stone Mountain Park: parking (daily and annual vehicle permits)
Hank Whitlock is the pen name of the It's Georgia editor. Every guide is built around the questions a busy family actually asks before a trip: how long is the drive, what does parking cost, can the stroller make it, are dogs allowed. Details are checked against official park, city, and venue sources, and each guide shows the date it was last updated.
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Cite this page: It's Georgia, “Stone Mountain Highland Games: 2026 Dates, Tickets and Tips”, itsgeorgia.com/events/stone-mountain-highland-games/ (updated ). Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page.