Brookwood, AL

Brookwood is a small Alabama city of 2,700 people located about 20 miles southwest of Tuscaloosa in the state's former coal mining region. Take I-59 to Exit 40, then Highway 216 into town. From Birmingham, it's an hour south on I-59, while Tuscaloosa residents can use Highway 69 south or connect via I-59. The area's rolling, forested hills still show remnants of the historic coal mining operations that once drove the local economy.