Presidential Pathways
FDR's Little White House, Callaway Gardens in azalea season, and Andersonville's solemn fields. The southwest corner where history walks with you.
The southwestern quadrant of Georgia is where two American presidents left the deepest marks. Franklin D. Roosevelt built his Little White House in Warm Springs in 1932 and returned 41 times seeking relief from polio in the 88° mineral springs; he died there in April 1945. Jimmy Carter grew up on a peanut farm in Plains, an hour southwest, and returned home after the presidency to teach Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church.
Between and around them is a landscape that surprises first-time visitors — Callaway Gardens' 13,000 azalea-and-butterfly acres, Providence Canyon's pink-and-orange badlands (Georgia's 'Little Grand Canyon'), and the solemn ground of Andersonville, the Civil War's most notorious prisoner-of-war camp.
Best time to visit
- Mid-April for Callaway Gardens' azalea peak — a legitimate travel event, with 20,000 azaleas across 40 acres of the Overlook Garden.
- Fall for cooler walking at Providence Canyon and shorter lines at FDR's Little White House.
- President Carter's Sunday school lessons at Maranatha Baptist in Plains ended in 2019 — but the church, boyhood farm, and downtown Plains historic site remain moving year-round.
Getting around
- This is a car region. Warm Springs is 75 miles south of Atlanta; Plains and Americus are another hour south. Columbus (Georgia's third-largest city) is the western anchor and has a regional airport.
- US-27 south from LaGrange links Warm Springs, Pine Mountain (Callaway), and Columbus. GA-49 south from Macon reaches Andersonville and Plains.
- Fuel and food thin between towns; plan meals around the destinations rather than the drives.
Top things to do
The modest six-room cottage is preserved as it was when Roosevelt died there in April 1945; the museum next door tells the New Deal story. Soak in the historic 88° pools if they're open.
13,000 acres of gardens, lakes, and trails at the foot of Pine Mountain. Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center is a highlight, and the Discovery Bicycle Trail is a beautiful 10-mile loop.
The boyhood farm, Plains High School (Carter's alma mater and the visitor center), and the tiny downtown depot that served as his 1976 campaign HQ. Free and moving.
Providence Canyon's pink, orange, and white cliffs are the result of 1800s farming erosion — walk the Canyon Loop Trail early. Andersonville National Historic Site, 40 minutes east, is a sobering counterpoint.
Insider tips
- Book the Callaway Gardens on-site cottages during azalea season — the gardens open early for guests, before the day-visitor rush.
- Buckhead Coffee in Warm Springs (in the old bank building) is the right breakfast stop before the Little White House opens.
- The Rylander Theatre in Americus (Carter's inauguration night broadcast venue) still hosts shows in a 1921 vaudeville house — check the calendar.
Itineraries through Presidential Pathways
Ready-to-book multi-day plans that thread Presidential Pathways together with the surrounding stops travelers love most.
FDR's Little White House, Andersonville's quiet fields, and Callaway Gardens in bloom. The state's tender historical heart.
Okefenokee dawn paddles, cypress-mirror lakes, and Providence Canyon's painted walls. Georgia at its most untamed.
Rooftops, chef-driven kitchens, and the world's largest aquarium — a fast, cinematic long weekend in the capital.
Chase the sunset.
Meet the South.
From peach orchards at first light to tidewater dinners at last light — your itinerary is waiting to be written.
Start Your Adventure