From the high, rolling peaks of the Blue Ridge mountains to the Sea Islands of the coast, you could fill an encyclopedia with notable tourist attractions in Georgia. Ideally, one would need a week to hit the highlights around the state, but, like anywhere, travelers tend to spend their vacation time in one area. The Peach State's rich history, array of natural wonders and varied culture allows for plenty of options when it's time to make an itinerary for your trip.
Stone Mountain Park just east of Atlanta is Georgia's most-visited attraction. The park is home to the mammoth granite outcropping that gives it a name, as well as many family amusements, outdoor recreational opportunities, a campground and two resort hotel properties. Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain may be most well-known for its botanical gardens, but the resort contains other attractions including a lake with a swimming beach and championship golf courses. For an oceanside beach, Tybee Island, Jekyll Island and St. Simons Island are the go-to spots for tourists because they're accessible by car, unlike the rest of the barrier islands that make up the Georgia coastline.
Along with Stone Mountain, the "Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia" are the Okefenokee Swamp, Providence Canyon, Radium Springs, Tallulah Gorge, Warm Springs and Amicalola Falls. All are accessible via units of the Georgia State Parks system, except for Radium Springs, the largest natural spring in the state, which is a free public park in Albany. Stephen C. Foster State Park provides access to the Okefenokee, one of the largest swamps in North America. Amicalola Falls is considered one of the highest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi. U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought therapeutic relief from his crippling polio in the warm spring-fed pools at Warm Springs.
When traveling anywhere near the Georgia coast, a visit to Savannah's Historic District is recommended. Savannah is Georgia's oldest city and the Historic District has the look and feel of an era when streets were lit by gas lamps. Civil War buffs will want to visit the Andersonville National Historic Site, home to the infamous Confederate prison camp. The Pine Mountain area is home to many sites associated with F.D.R., including the Little White House State Historic Site where the president passed away in 1945, and Dowdells Knob on top of Pine Mountain inside F.D. Roosevelt State Park. This was a frequent picnic spot for the leader where he is said to have pondered world affairs. It's now commemorated with a life-sized sculpture of F.D.R. enjoying the impressive view from his removable car seat.
If you're the type of traveler who likes to take in offbeat attractions, check out the Georgia Guidestones near Elberton. Ordered built by a mysterious stranger in the late 1970s, the Guidestones are like the South's own version of Stonehenge, but engraved with cryptic messages in multiple languages for future generations. On the other side of the state in Summerville, Paradise Gardens gained notoriety in the early 1980s after the rock group R.E.M. filmed a music video in the junkyard-like gardens of eccentric folk artist Howard Finster. One of the most time-honored attractions not only in Georgia but in all the South is Rock City atop Lookout Mountain with its breathtaking mountaintop vistas accented by such quirkiness as Fairyland Caverns and Mother Goose Village.
