How many calories are burned when hiking depends on several factors. A 4ft 10in, 100lb, 70 year old female, carrying no pack, and walking on flat land will only burn 130 calories per hour. But a 6ft 2in, 180lb, 18 year old male, carrying a 40lb pack up a steeply sloped hill will burn 710 calories per hour. Most hikers will fall in the middle of these extremes.
Estimated calories burned hiking for the average day hiker
Male day hiker
A typical male day hiker is probably going to burn somewhere in the mid 300 calorie range per hour of hiking. The average in the table I made below is 360kcals.
Hiking at a moderate pace of 2 to 2.5mph, we can see the following calorie counts for a male hiker in the table below. The trail conditions in the table represent walking up moderate or steeply sloped trails.
| Hiker | Details | Trail Conditions | Calories Burned per Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Male Hiker | 5ft 9in, 154lb, 35yo | flat | 210kcal |
| Model Male Hiker | 5ft 9in, 154lb, 35yo | moderate slope | 370kcal |
| Model Male Hiker | 5ft 9in, 154lb, 35yo | steep slope | 450kcal |
| Average American Male | 5ft 9in, 198lb, 35yo | flat | 230kcal |
| Average American Male | 5ft 9in, 198lb, 35yo | moderate slope | 410kcal |
| Average American Male | 5ft 9in, 198lb, 35yo | steep slope | 510kcal |
| Average of All | average | average | 360kcal |
Female day hiker
A typical female day hiker is likely to burn somewhere in the upper 200 calorie range per hour of hiking. The average on the table I put together below is 270kcal/hour.
Again for the same pace of 2 to 2.5mph, which is a normal hiking speed for a person in their 30’s, we can see the following calories burned on the trail, for model and average American females. And same as before with the trail conditions. The slopes represent hiking upwards, against gravity.
| Hiker | Details | Trail Conditions | Calories Burned per Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Female Hiker | 5ft 4in, 119lb, 35yo | flat | 150kcal |
| Model Female Hiker | 5ft 4in, 119lb, 35yo | moderate slope | 270kcal |
| Model Female Hiker | 5ft 4in, 119lb, 35yo | steep slope | 330kcal |
| Average American Female | 5ft 4in, 170lb, 35yo | flat | 180kcal |
| Average American Female | 5ft 4in, 170lb, 35yo | moderate slope | 320kcal |
| Average American Female | 5ft 4in, 170lb, 35yo | steep slope | 390kcal |
| Average of All | average | average | 270kcal |
Estimated calories burned hiking for the average backpacking or thru-hiker
When we start adding pack weight into the equation, you can see the calories burned increases in a significant way.
Male Backpacker
A typical male backpacker that isn’t going ultralight, i.e. has a 30 pound pack, will probably burn calories in the upper 400kcal range. The average for the model male and their American counterpart, traveling again at 2 to 2.5mph, is 480kcal.
| Backpacker | Details | Trail Conditions | Calories Burned per Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Male Backpacker | 5ft 9in, 154lb, 35yo, 30lb pack | flat | 280kcal |
| Model Male Backpacker | 5ft 9in, 154lb, 35yo, 30lb pack | moderate slope | 490kcal |
| Model Male Backpacker | 5ft 9in, 154lb, 35yo, 30lb pack | steep slope | 580kcal |
| Average American Male Backpacking | 5ft 9in, 198lb, 35yo, 30lb pack | flat | 310kcal |
| Average American Male Backpacking | 5ft 9in, 198lb, 35yo, 30lb pack | moderate slope | 550kcal |
| Average American Male Backpacking | 5ft 9in, 198lb, 35yo, 30lb pack | steep slope | 650kcal |
| Average of All | average | average | 480kcal |
Female Backpacker
A typical female backpacker may burn somewhere in the middle 300kcal range per hour. My calculator’s average of the model female and the average American female is 350kcal/hour. Once again 2-2.5mph is what I’m using in these calculations.
| Backpacker | Details | Trail Conditions | Calories Burned per Hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Female Backpacker | 5ft 4in, 119lb, 35yo, 25lb pack | flat | 200kcal |
| Model Female Backpacker | 5ft 4in, 119lb, 35yo, 25lb pack | moderate slope | 360kcal |
| Model Female Backpacker | 5ft 4in, 119lb, 35yo, 25lb pack | steep slope | 420kcal |
| Average American Female Backpacking | 5ft 4in, 170lb, 35yo, 25lb pack | flat | 230kcal |
| Average American Female Backpacking | 5ft 4in, 170lb, 35yo, 25lb pack | moderate slope | 410kcal |
| Average American Female Backpacking | 5ft 4in, 170lb, 35yo, 25lb pack | steep slope | 490kcal |
| Average of All | average | average | 350kcal |
Factors affecting how many calories are burned hiking
Personal factors
How old you are, how much you weigh, and how tall you are, and how much your backpack weighs, and your sex are the key personal factors in determining how many calories you’ll burn on the hiking trail.
Trail factors
Trail conditions also play a major roll in determining your expended calories. How many minutes spent hiking on flat, moderately sloped, or steeply sloped terrain during your hike, and how fast were you traveling, are important in that regard.
Calories burned hiking calculators
To get a more accurate estimate of how many calories you will burn, or have burned on a hike, you will need to use a hiking calories calculator. I’ve built several of these from the ground up, using first principles.
Day hiking calculators
Check out my day hiking calories burned on the trail calculator, or my day hiking total daily calories burned calculator, if you are a day hiker.
Backpacking and thru-hiking calculators
Also, I’ve built calculators that take into account your backpack weight for backpacking and thru-hiking. I have one that just focuses on calories burned on the trail, and another that gives a total daily calorie count, based on how much you sleep, and how much you hike.
Difference between my calculators and other online hiking calculators
My calculators are different than some of the others you see online, in that I have separate ones for both men and women, and that you can input how many minutes you spent, or plan to spend, on each trail condition.
Some of mine also factor in the rest of your day, whether it’s chilling at home, or going through the motions on a multi-day backpacking trip, and give you a total daily calorie count to help you with your food planning.
Frequently asked questions about calories burned hiking
How many calories are burned hiking in mountains?
Men will burn 300 to 400 calories per hour, hiking in mountains with equal parts of uphill and downhill terrain. Women will burn 220 to 300 calories per hour, under the same conditions. These numbers assume the hikers are of average height and have healthy BMI’s. It also assumes they are day hikers, and carrying a pack and water that are not more than 5 pounds in weight.
However if these men and women were backpacking with 30 and 25 pound packs, respectively, then the calories burned per hour goes up to 400-490kcal/hour for the men, and 300-360kcal/hour for women. These numbers are based on my backpacking calories calculator mentioned above.
How many calories are burned hiking x miles?
| How many calories are burned day hiking x miles? | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| How many calories are burned hiking 1 mile? | 140kcal | 100kcal |
| How many calories are burned hiking 2 miles? | 280kcal | 200kcal |
| How many calories are burned hiking 5 miles? | 700kcal | 500kcal |
| How many calories are burned hiking 10 miles? | 1,450kcal | 1,120kcal |
| How many calories are burned hiking 15 miles? | 2,180kcal | 1,680kcal |
How many calories are burned on a 3 day hike?
10,000 calories are burned on a 3 day hike for women, and 13,600 calories are burned in that same time for men. This assumes the hikers are of average height, healthy BMI, sleep 8 hours per day, and hike 7 hours per day at 2.25mph on mixed terrain, biased towards moderate up and down slopes and flat sections, with only a couple hours of steep up and down hiking.
This is based on my thru-hiking calculator that calculates total daily energy.
Further Reading
If you want more hiking nutrition information, check out my nutrition paged dedicated just to that! Take care…