About Haywood County, North Carolina

See yourself in the Smokies! Welcome to Haywood County, North Carolina..."Where the Sun Rises on the Smokies." Home to Maggie Valley, Waynesville, Canton, and Clyde, Haywood County is a beautiful vacation destination located in the heart of Western North Carolina.

Haywood County, North Carolina, is 554 scenic square miles of spectacular country, with beautiful mountains and valleys dotting the landscape. Thirteen of its mountain peaks soar to elevations of at least 6,000 feet (more than any other county east of the Mississippi River), and Haywood County is one of the highest, with a mean elevation of 3,600 feet, east of the Rockies. Notable mountain peaks include Cold Mountain—the basis for the award-winning, best-selling novel by Charles Frazier and the ensuing 2003 major motion picture—at at 6,030 feet, Mt. Sterling at 5,836 feet and Richland Balsam at 6,410 feet in elevation.

The county sits at the western edge of the state, with 46 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway running along its southwestern border. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Pisgah National Forest are located in the northern section of the county. Unlike the other 99 counties in the state, all the water in Haywood County originates in Haywood County, including the Pigeon River. With four distinctive seasons, Haywood County has much to offer year-round. The annual average temperature is 54 degrees; the temperature averages 38 degrees in January and 71 degrees in June. Haywood County averages 47.5 inches of rainfall and 12.2 inches of snowfall each year.

WIth more than 200 accommodations (from quaint bed and breakfasts and rustic inns to secluded cabins and brand hotels), scores of attractions and activities, an awesome climate, beautiful natural scenery, and friendly people, there's plenty of reasons to visit this Appalachian gem.