Calories Burned Hiking Calculator
Use this calories burned hiking calculator to estimate your energy use from your weight, time on the trail, terrain, and pack.
Updated October 2, 2026
Medical Disclaimer: This calculator provides a general estimate based on established research and is for educational purposes only, not a substitute for medical advice. Individual results can vary based on health conditions, so consult a qualified healthcare professional or registered dietitian before making significant changes to your diet, exercise, or health routine. Read our full Medical Disclaimer.
How Calories Burned Hiking Is Calculated
Calories burned hiking is the energy your body uses to walk a trail for a set time. It depends mostly on your body weight, how steep the ground is, and how much you carry. This tool is for adults. It turns those details into one estimate and a small table you can compare.
What Hiking Calories Measure
The number is an estimate of total energy spent while you move. It includes the energy your body would use at rest during that time, so it is a gross figure. It does not measure your actual heart rate, pace, or fitness.
This page is built only for hiking. The general Calories Burned Calculator covers many activities, and the Steps to Calories Calculator starts from a step count. Here, you choose the terrain and pack instead.
The Formula
Calories (kcal) = MET x body weight (kg) x time (hours)
A MET is a number that compares an activity to resting. The Compendium of Physical Activities lists 1 MET as 1 kcal per kg per hour². The MET values below come from the 2024 Adult Compendium, which covers adults aged 19 to 59¹.
How This Calculator Computes Your Result
Enter your weight in pounds or kilograms, your moving time in hours and minutes, a terrain band, and whether you carry a loaded pack. The tool converts pounds to kilograms, picks the matching MET value, and multiplies. It rounds the answer to the nearest 5 kcal.
The table below the result shows what your weight burns in 30 and 60 minutes at every terrain band, using your pack choice. The row for your terrain is highlighted.
Terrain band | No pack MET | Loaded pack MET |
Easy (flat or gentle, slow) | 3.8 | 3.8 |
Rolling (normal pace) | 5.3 | 7.0 |
Moderate climbing (6 to 10% grade) | 7.0 | 7.5 |
Steep uphill (11 to 20% grade) | 8.8 | 10.0 |
A loaded pack here means about 20 lb (9 kg) or more. Time means moving time, so leave out long lunch stops.
What Your Result Means
Your result is the calories used on that hike, not a target. Here is what a 70 kg (154 lb) hiker burns with no pack:
Terrain band | 30 minutes | 60 minutes |
Easy | 135 kcal | 265 kcal |
Rolling | 185 kcal | 370 kcal |
Moderate climbing | 245 kcal | 490 kcal |
Steep uphill | 310 kcal | 615 kcal |
An hour of steep uphill uses more than twice the energy of an hour of easy walking. Heavier people burn more at the same effort, because they move more weight.
Why Uphill and a Pack Raise the Cost
Climbing means lifting your body, and any pack, against gravity with every step. A steeper grade means more lifting per step, so the cost rises fast. In a lab study of walking, energy cost kept climbing as the slope got steeper⁴. A pack adds to the weight you lift, which is why the loaded column is higher in most rows.
Downhill Is Not Free
Going down uses less energy than going up, but it is not zero. In the same lab study, the lowest cost came on a slope of about 10% downhill. On steeper descents the cost went back up⁴. This tool has no downhill option. For a hike with a long descent, pick the band that fits the whole trip, or enter the climb and the descent as two separate runs.
How MET Values Are Chosen
Each MET value is copied from the 2024 Adult Compendium, which was built from a review of energy cost studies¹. The easy and rolling no pack bands use the hiking codes 17081 and 17082. The climbing bands use hill climbing codes 17035 and 17036. The loaded pack bands use codes 17033, 17010, 17050, and 17060¹. The loaded values come from different studies with loose weight ranges, so treat the step between bands as approximate.
A Note on Accuracy
A MET is an average across many people. It does not know your fitness, pace, trail surface, altitude, weather, or how your pack fits. The Compendium site notes that standard MET values use a fixed resting value that can differ from a person's measured rate, and that METs do not replace direct measurement³. Expect your real result to differ from the estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many calories does hiking burn per hour?
For a 70 kg (154 lb) adult with no pack, about 265 kcal on an easy trail, 370 on a rolling trail, 490 on a moderate climb, and 615 on a steep climb. A loaded pack raises these figures on most terrain¹.
Does hiking uphill burn more calories than flat walking?
Yes. Each step on a slope lifts your body weight higher, so a steep climb costs much more per hour than flat ground⁴.
Does carrying a backpack burn more calories?
Usually yes. The compendium lists higher values for loaded hiking on rolling, climbing, and steep ground, but the same value as no pack on a very slow, nearly flat walk¹.
How accurate is a hiking calorie calculator?
It gives a reasonable estimate, not an exact count. It uses group average MET values, so your own result can be higher or lower³.
Sources
2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, Herrmann et al., 2024
Compendium Unit Conversions, Compendium of Physical Activities
Corrected METs, Compendium of Physical Activities
Energy Cost of Walking at Extreme Uphill and Downhill Slopes, Minetti et al., 2002