75 Things to Love About Alabama: Highway 25

Maybe you’ve made the trip between Mobile and Tuscaloosa without hopping interstates, and just making a straight beeline south down the west side of the state... Or maybe you haven’t. You’ll start on Highway 69 going south through Moundsville all the way to Greensboro (not to be confused with Forrest Gump’s hometown of Greenbow), where you’ll see plantation estates alongside much smaller dwellings in a very stark reminder of the past of South.

From there, Highway 25 cuts through the heart of the Blackbelt. South of Greensboro, the road opens up into sprawling farms, ranches, silos, and catfish ponds. If you like true country side, it’s about as beautiful of a drive as you’ll find. Especially around sunset when the sun reflects off of all the ponds and irrigation channels on both sides of the road.

You’ll cross through Faunsdale, which, if it looks a little empty, that’s because there are all of about 100 people living there. It’s the site of a Mennonite community, and also hosts a bi-annual biker rally that winds up being a pretty big gathering.

After that, you’ll cross the tracks and continue south down 25. Eventually, you come to Thomaston. Nearly 5 times larger than Faunsdale, Thomaston proudly promotes their world-famous Pepper Jelly (I’ve never stopped, but there are plenty of signs) and they host a Pepper Jelly festival in April every year.

Ultimately, Highway 25 then dead ends at Pine Hill, Alabama, and you can then take the much more boring and speed trap-riddled Highway 43 between the myriad of large manufacturing and power plants all the way to Mobile.

It may not make the national bucket lists, but the drive on Highway 25 from Greensboro to Thomaston is both scenic and filled with rich history.