Hike To Charlies Bunion For One Of The Best Views In The Great Smoky Mountains

Gather ‘round, children, and I’ll tell you a tale.

Back in the 1920s, an Appalachian Trail supervisor named Charlie Conner was hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains with his buddy and fellow outdoorsman Horace Kephart. The two men were venturing to a rocky overlook then known as Fodderstack.

When they stopped to rest, Conner took off his ratty old worn-out boots to reveal a huge bunion on his foot. When Kephart saw it, he thought it resembled the rocky outcrop and said, "Charlie, I’m going to get this place put on a government map for you."

And Kephart was true to his word. Shortly afterward, the United States Geological Survey renamed Fodderstack to "Charlies Bunion."

Or so the story goes, anyway.

If you have a lump on your foot that looks like Charlies Bunion, you might need some new hiking boots.

(Amber Harding Snyder)

During a trip to the Smokies to celebrate our anniversary earlier this month, my husband and I had time for one last hike on our way out of town. We heard the view from Charlies Bunion was top-notch, so we decided to make the 8ish-mile round trip to check it out.

This particular hike is part of the Appalachian Trail — the world's longest hiking-only trail, which spans nearly 2,200 miles and passes through 14 states. So when you look at it that way, 8 miles is a piece of cake.

If you're planning to climb up to Charlies Bunion sometime in the near future (or you're just curious about what it's like), keep on reading! Here's everything you need to know.

(Fun Fact: Lest you think I'm a hack of a writer who doesn't understand how apostrophes work, the U.S. Board on Geographic Names generally does not use apostrophes when naming geographic features. So Charlies — no apostrophe — Bunion is its official, grammatically incorrect name.)

Quick Facts: Charlies Bunion Via Appalachian Trail

• MILEAGE: 8.5 Miles — Out & Back
• ELEVATION GAIN: About 1,900 Feet
• DIFFICULTY: Hard
• PARKING PERMIT REQUIRED: A parking tag is required for every vehicle (except those with a handicap license plate or placard) parking longer than 15 minutes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You can buy them online or at any visitor's center in the park. We snagged a weekly pass from a kiosk at Sugarlands Visitor Center for $15.
• PARKING: There is a fairly large parking lot at Newfound Gap.
• RESTROOMS: The trailhead has a nice bathroom (with plumbing — fancy!). There's also an open-air outhouse about 3 miles into the trail.

Highlights: Charlies Bunion Via Appalachian Trail

Let's start at the beginning — I mean, the very beginning.

This trailhead has one of the nicest parking lots you'll find for a hike. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's luxurious, as far as parking lots go. Newfound Gap features more than enough parking spots to accommodate everyone, a large bathroom with plumbing and a really nice view.

Seriously, if you don't feel like hiking, you could slap a picture of this parking lot view on your Instagram, and people would think you did something really cool today. Also, this trailhead is situated right on the Tennessee-North Carolina state line, so you can take your corny tourist photo next to the sign, too.

No judgment, I've done it.

Newfound Gap at the Tennessee-North Carolina state line.

(Amber Harding Snyder)

When you first head out on this trail, there will be a sign indicating the distance to various points of interest along the trail. Charlies Bunion is not listed on this sign, but do not fear. You're in the right place.

There is no foreplay on this hike. That is to say there's no time for you to ease into it — the elevation gain begins immediately. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Heart rate straight to max.

Granted, I did this hike about 36 hours after I climbed Mount LeConte, so my body was already good and fed up with my grand ideas at this point. Nevertheless, I persisted. And about 0.75 miles into the hike, the trail was completely iced over. Thank God we brought our spikes.

(Amber Harding Snyder)

I cannot stress enough that on February 5, 2025, this hike would have been nearly impossible or —at the very least — miserable without spikes (crampons, if you prefer the proper yet slightly off-putting term). For a nearly three-mile stretch, we trekked uphill on a thick sheet of ice and through piles of snow. On the parts of the trail that weren't frozen over, we dealt with ankle-deep mud.

About 2.5 miles in, we encountered a couple who were hopelessly stuck on the side of the trail. The man had foolishly decided he could conquer the AT in winter in a pair of Nikes — Nikes we could barely see through the thick mud cast around his feet and shins — and he was paying dearly for this arrogance.

They turned around to go back to the trailhead. This was the right call.

Despite the conditions of the trail, the scenery was beautiful. Not terribly exciting — but beautiful. The mossy rocks and vines gave this little slice of heaven a bit of a Middle Earth feel and provided a perfect backdrop for me to yap incessantly to my husband about Appalachian folklore, fairies and cryptids.

He signed up for this sort of useless knowledge when he married me.

(Amber Harding Snyder)

Once we powered through all the slush, we were handsomely rewarded. At the summit, a sign warned us about unstable, hazardous cliffs and a potential for falling rocks. We made it to the Bunion.

Charlies Bunion consists of two gigantic rock formations (multiple bunions, if we're being technical) that provide the perfect perch to admire near-360 views of the Smokies. I'm not too proud to admit that I did not venture out to the very sketchy second rock.

For two reasons:

1. It was scary AF.
2. For the entire hour we spent at this spot — eating lunch and taking in the view — a man sat alone on the outer rock formation, just staring into the distance. I figured he was either deeply contemplating the meaning of life or was considering ending it all. I'm happy to report it was not the latter.

As I was scrolling AllTrails before this hike, I saw a lot of disappointed reviews from people who made this trek on a cloudy day and couldn't see diddly squat from Charlies Bunion. Given that there was rain in the forecast when we set out to make this climb, I was a little worried we would meet the same fate.

I'll be honest with y'all: I love trees and nature and all those wonderful things. But I'm not putting in all that work for no payoff. So I was going to be seriously bummed out if we walked 9 miles just to look at some fog.

Fortunately, this wasn't the case. Charlies Bunion gave us one of the best views in the Great Smoky Mountains (almost) all to ourselves.

And I hope that guy in the Nikes didn't end up with a bunion of his own.

AMBER'S RATING: 8/10

Visiting the Great Smoky Mountains sometime soon? Read my review of the Alum Cave Trail to Mount LeConte!

Based in middle Tennessee, Amber is a lover of all things outdoor adventure. Got questions, comments or suggestions for a great hike? Email her at Amber.Harding@outkick.com or find her on Instagram at @AmberHarding.

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