Haywood County Map

Welcome to Haywood County

NOTE: The Telephone AREA CODE for Haywood County is 828
The first 3 digits of the postal 'ZIP code' are 287

Haywood County Map
Haywood County Directory

Haywood County Overview

In 1808, only seventeen years after Buncombe County was formed, the southwestern portion was split off to form Haywood County which, then, included what are now Jackson and Macon Counties. As with most of the Western North Carolina Mountain Counties, much of Haywood County is federal land, namely Pisgah National Forest, the Blue Ridge Parkway and about hald of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (the most popular of the American National Parks). The county was named in honor of John Haywood who was, at that time, Treasurer of North Carolina.
The Pigeon River, which has its source on the south slope of Black Balsam Knob in southern Haywood County (just north of milepost 420 of the Blue Ridge Parkway). There are several waterfalls in the area, the most popular of which is Yellowstone Falls (parking lot at MP 418.8) reached by a trail of only moderate difficulty. If you entered North Carolina from Tennessee by auto using Interstate 40, you traveled through the famous Pigeon River Gorge.

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Waynesville, the county seat, puts on several very popular fairs but is probably the least tourist-oriented city in the county. By contrast, Maggie Valley, just to the northwest of Waynesville on US-19, is primarily tourist oriented. Tourism is year-round in Maggie Valley; Cataloochee Ski Area encourages tourism year-round. Other attractions are for the warmer months: Ghost Town in the Sky, The Eaglenest, Carolina Nights Dinner Theater and Diamond K Dance Ranch with their variety of music venues. For those wishing to enjoy these beautiful mountains on horseback, there is Cataloochee Ranch, Hemphill Mountain Campground, Queen's Farm Riding Stables and Utah Mountain Riding Stables. If you'd rather look at animals rather than ride them, there is the Soco Gardens Zoo (which, by the way, is set in a beautiful array of gardens). And, if you have dreams of finding the worlds largest sapphire, drop by the Blue Ridge Gem Mine.

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