Downtown Waynesville is a vibrant and welcoming small town. With magnificent mountain views all around, Waynesville is just a short drive from Great Smoky Mountains National Park as well as the Blue Ridge Parkway. Fine shops, galleries, cafés & restaurants are all within walking distance of Main Street’s tree-lined brick sidewalks. Historic buildings, relaxing benches, public art, and gracious hospitality make Waynesville a thoroughly enjoyable place to visit.
Just 45 minutes from Asheville and an hour and a half from Knoxville, Waynesville can be easily accessed from I-40, Great Smoky Mountains Expressway, or the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The Blue Ridge Craft Trails in Waynesville offers an incredible array of craft to enjoy and take home.
Kaaren Stoner has been a working potter since 1969. Today at her Kaaren Stoner Design Studio, visitors can see the fruits of a long and vibrant career. Her work incorporates natural elements like leaves and twigs that she gathers from her property and has a distinct character apparent in every vessel.
At Glass by Gayle visitors can enjoy a large display of vibrant and colorful glass creations, and they can also learn how to make them. Gayle’s studio is full of light and constructed with education in mind in every detail. Enjoy fused glass, stained glass, and much more.
Christina Bendo Pottery is connected to the earth at every step in the process. Christina uses clay body and slip made from North Carolina clay, and she fires with wood and salt in the tradition of many North Carolina potters. The distinct glazes and imagery of her work are directly inspired by Christina’s connection to nature.
Jeweler’s Workbench can take people by surprise. When walking in, visitors might feel like they’ve walked into a conventional jewelry store. But it doesn’t take long to find out that it’s much more. The handmade and often one-of-a-kind work presented at Jeweler’s Workbench comes from more than 50 artists from across the Blue Ridge.
Metzger’s Burl Wood Gallery is full of surprising and awe-inspiring creations. Burls are usually highly textured and exceptionally beautiful. Steve Metzger has been working with burls since 1972, and he’s developed an ability to “read” a tree to know what to expect from any particular burl. Find burls for your own custom project or browse furniture that displays the distinctly beautiful wood.
Twigs & Leaves Gallery has played a role in the Waynesville craft community since 1998. Its legacy continues today with multiple floors filled with art and craft from wall-to-wall. Browse one of the widest selections of work from some of the best artists in the region.
Haywood County Arts Council & Gallery has served the community for almost half a century. The gallery in the heart of downtown Waynesville hosts rotating artist member shows and specially curated exhibitions. The gallery includes a retail space where juried artist members sell their work at reasonable prices, perfect for gifts or vacation souvenirs.
Green Hill Gallery gets its name from the section of Waynesville where owner, Joyce Massie, grew up. The gallery boasts an excellent selection of jewelry complemented by pottery and many other handmade crafts. Almost all of the work in the gallery is from the Southeast, with much of it being made within a 30-mile radius.
At Whitewoven Textiles Arts Studio Sheree Sorrells pursues her love of anything textile. That may take to the form of loom-woven place mats, vinyl floor mats, or her vibrant “GraffitiMats.” The studio offers a window into her process and a wide selection of her work.
The Town of Waynesville is rich in artistic and cultural capital, and the Waynesville Public Art Trail seeks to give visitors a first-hand experience. The Waynesville Public Art Trail incorporates all of Waynesville’s public art pieces into a self-guided public walking tour. The trail takes the visitor to each public art installation and provides guided narration of the pieces paired with original music that is unique for each piece.
Red Metal Red Metal is a female-owned and operated contemporary blacksmithing shop. Rachel David moved to the area from New Orleans in 2020 and repurposed a former furniture factory to become her studio. A blacksmith, sculptor, and designer, Rachel’s holistic metalwork practice encompasses art, furniture, architectural elements, activism, and collaboration.
Mud Dabbers Pottery & Crafts is a working studio and retail shop full of functional and decorative pottery created using high fired, low fired, Raku, and wood firing methods. In the showroom, traditional wheel-thrown forms are joined with the delightful whimsy of mischievous gnomes, expressive sun masks, mushrooms, traditional bowls, mugs, bacon cookers, and more.
The Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts in the 100-year-old Shelton House is a living testament to North Carolina handicraft traditions. Visitors can enjoy collections of work including pottery, baskets, beading, and carving from nearby Cherokee artists as well as historical furniture and pottery produced across the Old North State.
Music and More Situated in the heart of Appalachian culture and heritage, every Friday throughout the summer, the downtown hosts a traditional Mountain Street Dance. Waynesville also hosts Folkmoot USA, North Carolina’s official international music and dance festival annually.
You can visit Visit NC Smokies for more information.
Scenic Driving Trails:
Pisgah Triangle Pisgah Triangle – Visit NC Smokies
Haywood County Loop Pisgah Triangle – Visit NC Smokies
Copperhead Loop Copperhead Loop – Visit NC Smokies
Brewing:
Boojum Brewing
Frog Level Brewing
Dining:
Ammons Drive-In & Dairy Bar
The Swag Restaurant
Bogart’s
Fat Buddies Ribs & BBQ
Haywood Smokehouse
Unique accommodations
The Swag
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