Augusta
Augusta travel guide
Masters week, canal towpaths and James Brown's Broad Street
A Savannah River city in eastern Georgia that hosts the Masters every April, with a historic canal, a riverside promenade and a Broad Street lined with old storefronts. Visit in March-April or October-November for mild weather. Two days covers the city outside tournament week. Budget for US prices, and an ESTA for Visa Waiver passports.
Augusta sits on the Savannah River at Georgia's eastern edge, facing North Augusta in South Carolina across the water. For one week each April it becomes the centre of the golfing world, when the Masters Tournament is played at Augusta National Golf Club on Washington Road and well over 200,000 people pass through the gates.
The rest of the year it is a working river city of about 200,000, with a downtown that grew up around cotton mills and a canal. The Augusta Canal, dug in the 1840s to power factories, now has a towpath used by walkers and cyclists, plus boat tours in replicas of the old Petersburg cargo boats.
Broad Street is the old commercial spine, wide enough for the colonial-era market and lined with brick storefronts and bars. It also has a bronze statue of James Brown, who grew up here. A block north, the Riverwalk follows the levee past the Morris Museum of Art, which concentrates on painting from the American South.
History runs deeper than the golf. The city was founded in 1736, held the Confederacy's main powder works during the Civil War, and later drew wealthy northern winter visitors to the hillside resort of Summerville. Woodrow Wilson spent his boyhood in a house on Seventh Street that is now a museum.
Out of tournament week Augusta is relaxed and easy on the wallet. Spring and autumn are the pleasant seasons; summer highs sit around 35C with frequent storms.
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Top things to do in Augusta
A riverside promenade, a working industrial canal, Southern art, presidential history and, once a year, the Masters.
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Best time to visit Augusta
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Highs climb from 22C to 30C and the azaleas bloom; Masters week in early April is the busiest, priciest time of the year.
Highs near 35C, humid, with more than 110 mm of rain a month from thunderstorms; get out early, rest at midday.
Highs of 21C to 26C and the driest months (about 65 mm in October); good for the canal towpath and festivals.
During Masters week avoid driving on Washington Road near the club; traffic and parking restrictions stretch across west Augusta.
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Getting there
Augusta Regional and the I-20 corridor
Augusta Regional Airport (AGS) lies south of the city, roughly 20 minutes by car from downtown. It has connecting flights from Atlanta on Delta and from Charlotte and Washington National on American; there is no rail link, so take a taxi, a ride-hailing car or a hire car. Atlanta is the bigger alternative, about 148 miles west on I-20. Interstate 520 loops around the city and links the airport side with Washington Road and the Evans suburbs. Greyhound coaches stop at the station at 1128 Greene Street downtown.
- Augusta Regional (AGS)
- About 20 minutes to downtown by car or taxi
- Atlanta (ATL)
- About 148 miles on I-20, roughly 2.5 hours
- Greyhound
- 1128 Greene Street, downtown
- Masters week flights and hire cars sell out early; Columbia's airport is another option, about 75 miles away.
Where to stay
Riverfront, the Hill and Washington Road
Choose by purpose. The downtown riverfront keeps you on foot for the Riverwalk, Broad Street bars and the canal. Washington Road and the I-20 interchanges hold most chain hotels and are closest to Augusta National, though they fill and spike in price during the tournament. Many Masters visitors rent private homes across the metro area.
- Downtown riverfront
- Walk to Riverwalk, Morris Museum and Broad Street; quiet on Sunday nights
- Summerville (the Hill)
- Old resort neighbourhood of large houses and leafy streets; needs a car
- Washington Road and Evans
- Chain hotels and restaurants near Augusta National; traffic in April
- North Augusta, SC
- Hammond's Ferry riverside district across the bridge, walkable to downtown in about 20 minutes
Getting around
Augusta Transit buses and the canal towpath
Augusta is spread out, and most residents drive. Augusta Public Transit runs buses to the main districts, but a hire car is easier for Summerville, Lake Olmstead or the Washington Road corridor. Downtown, the Riverwalk and Broad Street are compact enough to walk, and the 13th Street bridge carries pedestrians into North Augusta. The Augusta Canal towpath is the best place to cycle, flat and shaded for about 7 miles on the canal's first level toward the headgates. During the Masters, the club runs free parking lots with shuttles; drivers should follow the tournament signs, even where satellite navigation disagrees.
- Augusta Public Transit
- City buses to downtown, hospitals and malls
- Canal towpath
- Walking and cycling along the Augusta Canal
- Masters parking
- Official lots with shuttles to the gates
- Taxis are scarce and distances long; book rides ahead in the evening.
Know before you go
What makes Augusta worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The Petersburg boat ride on the Augusta Canal, gliding past old textile mills under the trees.
- The Morris Museum of Art, on the Riverwalk, devoted to painters of the American South.
- Broad Street at night, live music spilling out of bars near the James Brown statue.
- Masters patrons' food, especially the pimento cheese sandwich eaten under the pines.
- Lake Olmstead, a park on the lake formed by an 1870s canal dam on Rae's Creek, quiet on weekday mornings.
Good to know
- Augusta National is private; outside tournament week there is no way to visit the course.
- Masters tickets are by lottery or long waiting list; check the official site well in advance.
- Summer humidity is heavy and afternoon storms common from June to August.
- Some areas east of Lake Olmstead feel rough after dark; use a car at night.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Augusta, month by month
Augusta's July highs average about 35C, and June to August each see well over 100 mm of rain. Augusta Regional Airport's records give the monthly picture.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Augusta Regional Airport, Georgia (NOAA, via Wikipedia).
Forty-eight hours between the canal headgates and Broad Street
Day one, morning. Start at the Augusta Canal Discovery Center in the old Enterprise Mill on Greene Street, then take a Petersburg boat tour along the canal to learn why mills lined its banks. Afternoon: walk or drive to the Boyhood Home of Woodrow Wilson on Seventh Street, where Wilson lived as a boy, and look into the Sacred Heart Cultural Center, a former church saved by the community. Evening: walk Broad Street, stop at the James Brown statue, and have dinner and drinks at one of the bars nearby.
Day two, morning. Stroll the Riverwalk along the levee and spend an hour or two in the Morris Museum of Art. Cross the 13th Street bridge to North Augusta for lunch at Hammond's Ferry. Afternoon: drive up to Summerville to see the old resort houses on the Hill, then head to Lake Olmstead for a walk by the water. Evening: back downtown, or out along Washington Road, where many restaurants cluster close to the gates of Augusta National.
Pimento cheese, barbecue and lunch counters on the Savannah
Barbecue joints serve pulled pork with sauces from both sides of the river, and meat-and-three lunch counters still do fried chicken, collards, mac and cheese and sweet tea. Breakfast usually means grits and biscuits.
The city's most famous food comes from the golf. The pimento cheese sandwich and the egg salad sandwich, wrapped in green paper and sold at the Masters for decades, are part of the tournament ritual, and local delis make their own versions year-round.
Broad Street has the densest choice of bars and casual restaurants; Washington Road and the Surrey Center off Highland Avenue hold more. Across the river, Hammond's Ferry in North Augusta has a bakery-cafe and riverside dining that suits a lazy brunch. Book well ahead in Masters week.
Azalea spring, Masters Week and autumn on the river
April defines the calendar. The Masters Tournament is played over the first full week of the month, with practice rounds early in the week and four days of competition ending on Sunday. Spring highs then are about 26C and the course's azaleas and dogwoods are usually in flower. Regional hotels book up a year ahead at steep prices.
March is a gentler time to come, with highs around 22C and the city quieter. May warms to 30C. From June to August highs reach 33C to 35C, nights stay above 20C and storms bring 110 to 120 mm of rain a month; plan indoor afternoons. In September the Arts in the Heart of Augusta festival fills downtown with food stalls and performers from many cultures.
October is the driest month, at around 65 mm, with highs near 26C, and November cools to 21C: both are good for cycling the canal towpath. Winters are mild, with January highs near 15C and frosty nights. For a day out, Columbia, South Carolina is about 75 miles east, and Atlanta about two and a half hours west.
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How we research our Augusta travel guide
Masters Week parking and traffic arrangements are confirmed each spring, along with airport routes and Riverwalk details. Our references are the Augusta, Georgia government website, the National Park Service and the State Department's Visa Waiver Program pages.
Last updated . Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of AugustaUS State DepartmentNational Park Service
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Augusta.
General
No. The club is private and membership is by invitation only. The general public sees the course only by holding a Masters ticket in April.
A guided boat ride on the 1840s Augusta Canal in replicas of the narrow Petersburg cargo boats, leaving from the Discovery Center in the Enterprise Mill on Greene Street.
On Broad Street downtown. The soul singer grew up in Augusta, and the statue is a favourite photo stop.
The Riverwalk, Broad Street and the canal centre are close together and easy on foot. For Summerville, Lake Olmstead and Washington Road you will need a car or a bus.
Only for an early-morning walk. July highs average about 35C with humid nights near 22C, and June to August each see well over 100 mm of rain, mostly in thunderstorms.
The tournament's pimento cheese and egg salad sandwiches are the tradition, sold at concession stands across the course.
Yes for a quieter stay. Hammond's Ferry sits on the South Carolina riverbank, and the 13th Street bridge puts downtown Augusta within walking distance.
Augusta is spread out, and most residents drive. Augusta Public Transit runs buses to the main districts, but a hire car is easier for Summerville, Lake Olmstead or the Washington Road corridor. Downtown, the Riverwalk and Broad Street are compact enough to walk, and the 13th Street bridge carries pedestrians into North Augusta.
Timing & weather
During the first full week of April, with practice rounds Monday to Wednesday and tournament rounds Thursday to Sunday.
The best time to visit Augusta is Mar to May, Oct to Nov. Highs in the 20s C, azaleas in spring; book far ahead for Masters week.
- Spring: March - May (Highs climb from 22C to 30C and the azaleas bloom; Masters week in early April is the busiest, priciest time of the year)
- Summer: June - August (Highs near 35C, humid, with more than 110 mm of rain a month from thunderstorms; get out early, rest at midday)
- Autumn: October - November (Highs of 21C to 26C and the driest months (about 65 mm in October); good for the canal towpath and festivals)
July is the warmest month in Augusta, with average highs of 35°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 2°C. June is the wettest month, at about 121 mm of rain; October is the driest. Augusta's July highs average about 35C, and June to August each see well over 100 mm of rain.
Getting there
Both work. Delta Connection flies from Atlanta, and American flies from Charlotte and Washington National. Many visitors use Atlanta and drive about 2.5 hours on I-20.
Use the official tournament parking lots and shuttles and follow posted signs. Driving Washington Road near the club that week is slow and heavily restricted.
Visa & documents
With an approved ESTA, citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries (most of Europe, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand among them) can stay up to 90 days. Everyone else needs a B-2 visitor visa, which means an interview at a US embassy. Since January 2026 nationals of a number of countries face full or partial entry restrictions.
Health & safety
Trouble is rare on a US trip. Petty theft and car break-ins are the most common problems for visitors, so leave nothing visible in a parked car, especially at trailheads. Natural hazards deserve real respect: hurricanes hit the south-east from June to November, and the west sees wildfires and extreme heat.
