Hiking Calories Calculator — Energy Burned Hiking
Enter your weight, trail distance, elevation gain, hiking pace and pack weight to estimate how many calories you burn on the hike — broken down into flat-terrain and elevation components.
Unit system
lbs
miles
ft
mph
lbs
Estimated energy expenditure for the full hike
- 1
Hiking duration
8.05 km ÷ 4.02 km/h = 2 - 2
Average grade
152 m ÷ (8.05 × 1000) × 100 = 1.9 - 3
Effective MET
5.3 + 1.9 × 0.5 = 6.25Base MET 5.3 (flat trail, Compendium of Physical Activities) boosted by 0.5 per 1% grade. - 4
Effective weight
70.3 + 0.5 × 6.8 kg = 73.7 - 5
Calories burned
6.25 × 73.7 × 2 h = 921
How does this calculator work?
Hiking calories ≈ MET_eff × body_kg × hours, where MET_eff = 5.3 + 0.5 × grade_%. A 155 lb person hiking 5 miles at 2.5 mph with 500 ft gain and a 15 lb pack burns roughly 800–900 kcal. Results are estimates: ±20% variation is normal across individuals and terrain.
Formula
How this is calculated
This calculator uses the metabolic equivalent of task (MET) method from exercise science. Flat hiking on a trail carries a base MET of 5.3 (per the Compendium of Physical Activities). For each additional 1% of average trail grade (elevation gain ÷ horizontal distance), the effective MET increases by approximately 0.5 — reflecting the extra muscular effort to climb. Pack weight adds to the effective load: roughly half the pack weight is added to your body weight for the calorie calculation, consistent with the energy cost of carrying an external load.
Total calories = MET_eff × effective_weight_kg × duration_hours. Duration is simply distance divided by your walking speed. The result is an estimate of gross energy expenditure (not net above resting); actual burn varies with fitness level, terrain roughness, footwear, altitude and individual metabolism.
No calculator can perfectly account for every variable: a rocky scramble at the same speed and grade burns more than a smooth path, and acclimatisation at altitude changes the calorie cost. Treat the result as a useful planning estimate, not a precise measurement.
Frequently asked questions
MET-based estimates are reasonable for planning purposes but carry an error margin of roughly ±15–25% for an individual, because factors like terrain surface, altitude, personal fitness, body composition and carrying technique all affect actual energy expenditure in ways the formula cannot fully capture.
Yes — climbing is mechanically costly. At a 10% average grade the effective MET rises from 5.3 to 8.3, a 57% increase. Over a 3-hour hike that adds hundreds of extra calories compared with the same distance on flat ground. The descents recover only a small fraction because human muscle braking is far less efficient than climbing.
Carrying a pack adds to the force your muscles must exert with every step. Research suggests that a load equal to roughly 50% of its weight adds to effective body mass for energy calculations (the rest is borne partly by the hip belt and frame). A 30 lb pack on a 150 lb hiker adds roughly 7 lb to the effective load.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Hiking Calories Calculator — Energy Burned Hiking [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/hiking-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Hiking Calories Calculator — Energy Burned Hiking." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/hiking-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Hiking Calories Calculator — Energy Burned Hiking," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/hiking-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_hiking_calculator, title = {Hiking Calories Calculator — Energy Burned Hiking}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/hiking-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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