Forest Lake, between 15th Street, Hackberry Lane, Hargrove Road and McFarland Boulevard, is in ZIP 35401 and zoned for Central High School.

Last checked Oct. 17, 2026. Sources: the City of Tuscaloosa’s Forest Lake specific plan and parks layer; Tuscaloosa City Schools’ 2026-27 school zone map; the Alabama State Department of Education’s state report card; Zillow Research; the Tuscaloosa Transit Authority’s route pages; and OpenStreetMap.

Forest Lake is a small residential neighborhood just south of the University of Alabama campus, boxed in by four busy roads. The city’s plan calls it one of Tuscaloosa’s older areas, made up of many separate subdivisions built up through the 1960s, mostly single-family houses with apartments near the edges and stores and offices along the surrounding roads.

What this means for you

  • Zoned high school: Central High School (2025 state report card: 69, a D).
  • Home value: $192,117 in ZIP 35401 in September 2026, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.
  • Nearest interstate exit: I-20/59 Exit 73 (U.S. 82, McFarland Boulevard), about 2 miles by road.
  • Who to call: City of Tuscaloosa Planning, 205-248-5100; Tuscaloosa City Schools, 205-759-3700.

Part of our Tuscaloosa neighborhoods guide.

Where it is

The city’s Forest Lake specific plan draws the neighborhood between 15th Street on the north, Hackberry Lane on the west, Hargrove Road on the south and McFarland Boulevard on the east. That is a little over half a square mile, all inside city limits and in ZIP code 35401, so the city provides police, fire and trash service.

The plan describes:

  • A core of single-family homes, with a significant number of apartments around the perimeter, close to the collector and arterial streets.
  • Commercial and office uses forming much of the outer edge, on 15th Street, Hargrove Road and McFarland Boulevard.
  • Few east-west connections through the neighborhood, because it grew as many separate subdivisions.
  • Policies to hold commercial frontage on McFarland Boulevard to its present zoned boundary and limit Hargrove Road frontage to neighborhood offices and small commercial gateways.

Schools

Tuscaloosa City Schools’ boundaries follow city limits, and on its 2026-27 zone map every point we checked in Forest Lake falls in one zone:

Level School 2025 score
Elementary University Place Elementary, 2000 First Ave. 88 (B)
Middle Westlawn Middle, 1715 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 74 (C)
High Central High, 905 15th St. 69 (D)

Scores are each school’s 2025 overall score, for the 2024-25 school year, on the Alabama State Department of Education’s state report card (choose 2024-2025, Tuscaloosa City and the school). Transfer requests go through the district’s school transfer application. More in our schools guide.

Home values

The typical home value in ZIP 35401 was $192,117 in September 2026, down 1.1% from $194,266 in September 2025, according to the Zillow Home Value Index. The index is a modeled typical value for the middle third of homes, not a sale price, and 35401 also covers downtown, West Tuscaloosa and most of the university area, so it is a broad guide to Forest Lake. The citywide figure was $243,681, up 0.8%. More in our home prices guide.

Parks and trails

From the city’s parks layer and park pages:

  • Monnish Park, at the northwest corner near 15th Street and Hackberry Lane, with a walking trail and the Dogwood and Oak shelters.
  • Snow Hinton Park, just across McFarland Boulevard, with a walking trail, playground, pavilions and restrooms.
  • Veterans Memorial Park, 1701 McFarland Blvd. East, in front of University Mall.

More in our parks and trails guide.

Getting around

  • Interstate: I-20/59 Exit 73 (U.S. 82, McFarland Boulevard), about 2 miles by road, or I-359 Exit 1 (35th Street), about 2.3 miles, using ALDOT’s exit names.
  • Downtown: about 2.8 miles by road to City Hall, 2201 University Blvd.
  • Airports: Tuscaloosa National Airport about 7.5 miles, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International about 60 miles. Distances are on the OpenStreetMap road network, measured with the OSRM routing engine, not drive times.
  • Buses: the Tuscaloosa Transit Authority’s V.A. route, which TTA names for Hargrove Road and University Mall, stops along 15th Street and at University Mall, weekdays 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to its route page.

More in our getting around guide.

Groceries and everyday stores

From OpenStreetMap: 15th Street Pharmacy, inside the area near 15th Street, and just outside it University Mall and The Fresh Market on McFarland Boulevard East and ALDI, 1349 McFarland Blvd. East.

How we drew this area

The boundary is the Forest Lake specific plan’s. School zones come from points spaced about 500 feet apart across it, checked against the district’s 2026-27 zone layer on Oct. 17, 2026. Store and place locations are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Forest Lake in Tuscaloosa?

The city’s Forest Lake specific plan draws the neighborhood between 15th Street on the north, Hackberry Lane on the west, Hargrove Road on the south and McFarland Boulevard on the east, south of the University of Alabama campus.

What schools is Forest Lake in Tuscaloosa zoned for?

Every point we checked is zoned for University Place Elementary, Westlawn Middle and Central High on Tuscaloosa City Schools’ 2026-27 map. Their 2025 state report card scores were 88, 74 and 69.

What ZIP code is Forest Lake Tuscaloosa?

  1. The Zillow Home Value Index for that ZIP code was $192,117 in September 2026, a modeled typical value, not a sale price.

Is Forest Lake in Tuscaloosa a good place to live?

Here are the facts. Forest Lake is a mostly single-family area of about half a square mile with apartments and offices around its edges, Monnish Park inside it, zoned for Central High (69 on the 2025 state report card), about 2 miles by road from I-20/59 Exit 73.