These are the best places to visit in Georgia, according to new ranking

Summer travel plans are underway for many, and while there are certain precautions you should take — particularly when flying to your destination — there are ways you can get your travel fix by venturing out in Georgia.

If you’re curious about where to go locally, a new ranking from U.S. News & World Report may be helpful.

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The media company has unveiled a list of the best places to visit in the Peach State as part of its Best Vacations series.

Half of the rankings’ weight is given to user score while the other half is given to editors’ scores. The latter is further broken down into editors scoring a particular destination on a scale from zero to 5 — zero being not applicable and 5 being phenomenal — based on the location’s characteristics. Then, each category’s editor scores are averaged together. The overall scores of the destinations are “a weighted average of the individual editors’ averages, based on which factors users said were most important to them.”

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“With big cities, iconic small towns, picturesque mountains and a spot on the Atlantic Ocean, Georgia has a lot more to offer than its peaches,” U.S. News said in the ranking description.

Also accounted for were the attractions’ uniqueness, accommodation availability and the opinions of everyday travelers.

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Among the destinations that made the list were Callaway Gardens, which is just more than an hour south of Atlanta and features 2,500 acres of gardens, a butterfly center, and more than 10 miles of bike and nature trails. Jekyll Island, which is the southernmost of the Golden Isles, also made the list.

Metro Atlanta locations including Arabia Mountain, Marietta and, despite its reputation, Lake Lanier landed on the list along with the state capital.

Best places to visit in Georgia

U.S. News noted that some destinations may be affected by the coronavirus pandemic and encouraged travelers to check with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of State before hitting the road.