Haywood County North Carolina is nestled among the ridges, valleys, and hollows of the Great Smokey Mountains in Southern Appalachia.  Nearly half of the County’s 554 square mile area is forested wilderness including a vast section of the Pisgah National Forest, the Harmon Den Bear Sanctuary, the Shinning Rock Wilderness, and a large section of the Smokey Mountains National Park.  The lush forests and farmlands of Haywood County are watered by the Pigeon River with it’s pristine headwaters in the remote Cruso and Lake Logan communities.  The Smokey Mountains National Park boasts the most biodiversity of any of America’s National Parks and has a self contained and uncontaminated watershed system.
     Haywood County is bordered to the north by Cocke County Tennessee.  It is also bordered by the North Carolina Counties of Jackson, Buncombe, Madison, and Transylvania. It covers 554 square miles with an estimated population in 2005 of 56,482.
     Tourism is an integral part of the economy of Haywood County.  The Great Smokey Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Ghost Town in the Sky theme park, Cataloochee Ski Resort and the Town of Maggie Valley are just some of the nationally known attractions drawing thousands of visitors to Haywood County each year.   
     Centrally located in Western North Carolina, Haywood County is also a half hour drive from the Cherokee Indian Reservation with attractions ranging from history to outdoor drama to the Harrah’s Cherokee Casino.  The City of Asheville is also a mere half hour drive with destinations such as the Grove Park Inn Resort and the  world class Biltmore Estate, the largest private residence in the nation.
     Despite Haywood County’s wilderness land with hiking, camping, and fishing and it’s tourism hot spots, Haywood County’s real treasure is her people.  Easy going and friendly, her people are a delightful mix of bible belt traditions and family roots as well as thriving and progressive arts, education and music communities.  Keeping alive the past and embracing the future are hallmarks of Haywood County.
     With a low crime rate, a slower pace of life, natural beauty, and warm and friendly people, we are proud to call Haywood County Home and provide the level of service the citizens of this community deserve.

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