Brookhaven, MS

Brookhaven is a small city in Lincoln County in southern Mississippi, home to roughly twelve thousand residents. It serves as the county seat and functions as a regional hub for the surrounding pine-woods countryside, sitting at the intersection of Interstate 55 and U.S. Route 84. Located about 55 miles south of Jackson, the state capital, Brookhaven has a relaxed small-town character anchored by a well-preserved Victorian-era downtown and a strong sense of local identity shaped by its railroad heritage. Visitors often pass through on their way to the broader outdoor and historic offerings of southwest Mississippi, while the city itself has begun to draw travelers with its revived Main Street district and a growing calendar of cultural events.

Just a few miles south of the city center, Lake Lincoln State Park offers a welcome dose of outdoor recreation in a quiet rural setting. The park surrounds a 550-acre lake and provides opportunities for fishing, boating, picnicking, and camping beneath tall loblolly pines, with hiking trails and a swimming beach rounding out the appeal. It functions as Brookhaven's backyard escape and is a popular spot for day visitors and overnighters alike.

Southwest of Brookhaven, accessible by a drive of roughly an hour and a half, the Homochitto National Forest covers more than 190,000 acres of pine hills, creeks, and clear-cut regeneration. The forest is a popular destination for hunting, dispersed camping, horseback riding, and trout fishing along shaded streams, offering a markedly wilder experience than the typical southern landscape. Its size and relative isolation make it a natural draw for travelers seeking solitude and big-sky country within a few hours of the city.

Back in town, Brookhaven's historic downtown district is itself a destination, with locally owned shops, cafés, and antique stores filling restored brick storefronts along a walkable stretch of Railroad Avenue. The Mississippi School of the Arts occupies the former Whitworth College campus a short distance from the square, and the restored 1905 train depot anchors the city's railroad heritage. Together with nearby cemeteries, churches, and a handful of Civil War-era markers, these stops sketch a picture of a community proud of its past and increasingly oriented toward cultural tourism.

For short-term-rental owners, Brookhaven offers an attractive combination of small-town charm, a strategic location along the I-55 corridor between Jackson and the Louisiana border, and easy access to a varied set of nearby attractions including the state park, the Homochitto backcountry, and the historic Bogue Chitto river country. Its affordability, walkable core, and steady flow of highway travelers, hunters, and family visitors give the city year-round appeal as a base for exploring southwest Mississippi.