It’s the county seat of Haywood County, and the largest town in NC west of Asheville.
Waynesville has done a nice job of revitalizing their downtown. There are dozens of art galleries, craft stores, coffee shops and restaurants along a 10-block section of Main Street. The center of town is the intersection of US276 and US23.
Just northeast of downtown is Lake Junaluska, a conference and retreat center (run by the United Methodist Church) surrounding a large lake. There are hiking trails, boat rentals, and a golf course. A 5-mile greenway runs from Waynesville to the Lake. On the far side of the lake is the Corneille Bryan Native Garden on 1.5 acres with nearly 500 species of native plants. lakejunaluska.com
Barn quilts, which are painted on barns and other buildings and resemble quilts, are popular in Haywood County. Best examples are "Moon Over Cold Mtn" in Cruso and "Five Spot" in Canton. For more info, go to the Visitors Center at 44 N. Main St. in Waynesville (800-334-9036) or visit haywoodquilttrails.com
To get to Waynesville, take US276 North from Brevard. It’s a mountainous and curvy road over and across the Blue Ridge Parkway.
>>Restaurants
- Joey's Pancake House - Try the blueberry pancakes with country ham. Closes at noon, and all day Thursday. 4309 Socco Rd, Maggie Valley. 828-926-0212. joeyspancake.com
- Haywood Smokehouse - barbeque is Texas-style and the firewood is hickory, in an old Waynesville house. 79 Elysinia Ave. 828-456-7275. haywoodsmokehouse.com
- Clyde's Restaurant - bustling comfort-food diner. 2107 S. Main St. 828-456-9135.
- The Sweet Onion - gets a lot of good press, but the Raleigh newspaper wasn't impressed. 39 Miller St. 828-456-5559. sweetonionrestaurant.com
>>Breweries
- Frog Level Brewing - A cool, cavernous hangout that shares a porch and yard with next-door Panacea coffeehouse. 55 Commerce St. 828-454-5664. froglevelbrewing.com
- Boojum Brewing - the brewery is at 357 Dayton Dr, and the taproom is downtown at 50 N Main St. boojumbrewing.com
- BearWaters Brewing - 130 Frasier St. bwbrewing.com
- Tipping Point Brewing and Tavern - 190 N. Main St. tippingpointtavern.com
