The Great Smoky Mountains have vanished, buried beneath billows of clouds that send water cascading off the storefront awnings of Waynesville. To watch the early-spring deluge wash over the mountain town, an old lovesick tune by Ronnie Milsap, who grew up an hour west in Robbinsville, might earworm its way in. âSmoky Mountain rain keeps on falling â¦â But the rain fails to dampen the welcoming air of Waynesville, a town of about 10,300 people that serves as the seat of Haywood County. Its open signs on Main Street glow like sunbursts. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a 10-minute drive down the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway, while Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a half-hourâs drive away. Americaâs most visited national park drew more than 12 million visitors last year, the second-highest total since it opened in 1934.