Mount Wilkinson: The Mountain Above Vinings With a Surprisingly Busy Past

Mount Wilkinson rises above Vinings with the kind of résumé that sounds made up at first glance. The mountain has carried multiple names, played a role in the Civil War, held a private family cemetery, and even spent part of the 1970s pretending Atlanta had its own ski scene. It is now tied closely to office development and the Cumberland area, though the hill’s earlier chapters still give it a much more interesting backstory than the average stretch of real estate.

The official federal name is Mount Wilkinson, as listed by the U.S. Geological Survey. Locally, many people still know it as Vinings Mountain, and some older references also use McKinley Mountain and Signal Mountain. In practice, these names all point to the same prominent rise above Vinings.

A mountain with more than one name

The naming history reflects how the mountain has been used over time. One of the earliest known names, Signal Mountain, came from its role as a lookout point during the Civil War. The name is practical and to the point, which fits the job.

Vinings Mountain became the common local name, tied to the growing identity of the surrounding area. Today, plenty of longtime residents still use it. Even sources discussing Mount Wilkinson often note that people commonly know it as Vinings Mountain.

That makes sense. The mountain sits right over Vinings and has long been part of the area’s visual backdrop. It is the sort of place that locals rename in the most practical way possible: point at it, name it after the place below it, move on with the day.

Later, the mountain received its official name, Mount Wilkinson, which is now the standard on maps and in formal references. Older mentions of McKinley Mountain also appear in historical accounts, though that name is rarely used today.

Named for a Scouting leader

Mount Wilkinson takes its official name from Mell B. Wilkinson, co-founder and first president of the Atlanta Scout Council. The mountain was once home to the Bert Adams Scout Camp, a major early Scouting site in the area.

Over time, portions of that land were sold off and developed into the office buildings and residential communities that now surround the mountain. The history is still visible in nearby road names like Bert Adams Road and Mount Wilkinson Parkway, which quietly preserve that connection.

Civil War views and a strategic perch

During the Atlanta Campaign in 1864, the mountain served as a signal point because of its commanding view toward Atlanta and the rail corridor. From that elevation, military leaders could observe movement across a wide stretch of terrain.

A hill with a skyline view is useful in peacetime. In wartime, the high ground becomes something far more important.

The Pace family and the cemetery on the mountain

The mountain is also linked to Hardy Pace, one of the earliest major figures in Vinings history. Pace ran a ferry across the Chattahoochee, owned extensive land in the area, and helped shape the early settlement that grew into Vinings. Hardy Pace and his wife are buried in the family cemetery on top of Mount Wilkinson, and the private cemetery remains on the mountain even as more modern development changed the surrounding landscape.

That contrast says a lot about Vinings. Office towers, traffic, and modern construction arrived, but the mountain still holds the memorials of the families tied to Vinings’ earliest years.

Yes, there really was a ski slope

One of the mountain’s most unusual chapters came in the 1970s with the Vinings Ridge Ski Area. The site featured a 780-foot ski slope made with Astroturf and plastic pellets, along with a three-story lodge, a shop, and a rooftop restaurant.

For a brief moment, Atlanta had something resembling a ski destination. It did not last, but it remains one of the more unexpected entries in the mountain’s history.

For Atlantans craving winter sports without the bother of actual winter, it was an ambitious idea. It also feels very 1970s in the best possible way: take a mountain, add synthetic turf, open a rooftop restaurant, and call it skiing.

From historic ridge to modern address

Today, the mountain is closely tied to the office and residential district around Paces Ferry Road and the Cumberland area. The ridge that once hosted Scouts, soldiers, and skiers is now lined with offices, condos, and winding roads carved into the hillside.

Yet the layers of history remain. Early settlement, Civil War use, Scouting roots, shifting names, and a short-lived and delightfully odd ski experiment all share the same ground.

Mount Wilkinson may look like a backdrop to modern development, but it has been quietly shaping the area for far longer than most people realize.