Waynesville is the county seat of Haywood County, North Carolina. It is the largest town in North Carolina west of Asheville. Waynesville is located about 30 miles southwest of Asheville between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains. As of the 2010 census, Waynesville had a population of 9,869. The town is located just outside the Pisgah National Forest and is close to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway.