Hawes is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, at the head of Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales, and historically in the North Riding of Yorkshire. The River Ure north of the town is a tourist attraction in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The population in 2011 was 887. The parish of Hawes also includes the neighbouring hamlet of Gayle. Hawes is 31.2 miles west of the county town of Northallerton. It is a major producer of Wensleydale cheese.