Elevation gain
Steeper climbs can increase energy expenditure sharply compared with flatter trails.
Hiking Calorie Calculator
A 70 kg person burns about 195 calories in 30 minutes of normal hiking through fields and hillsides.
Terrain and incline can push hiking calorie burn much higher than level walking.
CALORIES BY TERRAIN & TIME
Calories burned hiking
Choose your body weight, then compare estimated calorie burn across representative hiking conditions and durations.
| Hiking intensity | 15 min | 30 min | 60 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slow hiking fields / hillsides, no load | 70 kcal | 140 kcal | 279 kcal |
| Normal hiking fields / hillsides, no load | 97 kcal | 195 kcal | 390 kcal |
| Cross-country hiking mixed terrain | 110 kcal | 221 kcal | 441 kcal |
| Steep uphill 11–20% grade, slow–moderate | 162 kcal | 323 kcal | 647 kcal |
HIKING CALCULATOR
Calculate your hiking calories
Enter your body weight and hiking duration, then choose the terrain or effort that best matches your hike.
WHY THE NUMBER VARIES
What changes hiking calorie burn?
Hiking effort is strongly affected by terrain, incline and what you are carrying.
Terrain
Rocky, soft or uneven ground can require more effort than a smooth path.
Pack weight
Carrying water, gear or a backpack raises the cost of moving uphill and over distance.
Pace and fitness
Faster movement and individual hiking economy both influence real calorie expenditure.
One activity is easy to estimate. The whole day is harder.
Kibora helps you put food, calories and activity into context so you can understand how everything adds up across your day.
Calculation methodology and sources
These estimates use hiking and hill-climbing MET values from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities and the standard MET calorie-expenditure equation.
Hiking intensity assumptions
The 2024 Adult Compendium lists slow hiking or ambling through fields and hillsides with no load at 3.8 METs, normal hiking through fields and hillsides with no load at 5.3 METs, and cross-country hiking at 6.0 METs.
For a steeper example, climbing hills with no load at an 11–20% grade at a slow-to-moderate pace is listed at 8.8 METs.
Calorie calculation
Calories are estimated with the standard MET equation: MET × 3.5 × body weight in kilograms ÷ 200 × minutes.
Reference-table values are rounded to the nearest whole calorie. Calculator results can retain one decimal place.
Assumptions and limitations
The calculator uses representative terrain categories rather than directly modeling elevation gain, gradient, pack load or trail surface.
Standard MET values are population-level estimates, so actual calorie expenditure can differ between hikers.
Related calorie-burn activities
Common questions about hiking calories
How many calories does 30 minutes of hiking burn?
It depends on terrain and body weight. Using the estimates on this page, a 70 kg person burns about 140 calories in 30 minutes of slow hiking, 195 calories during normal hiking, and about 323 calories on a steep 11–20% uphill grade.
How many calories does one hour of hiking burn?
For a 70 kg person, the example estimates range from about 279 calories per hour for slow hiking to about 647 calories per hour for steep uphill hiking.
Does hiking uphill burn more calories?
Yes. Incline can substantially increase the energy cost of hiking, which is why the Compendium assigns much higher MET values to steep hill climbing.
Does carrying a backpack increase hiking calories?
Usually, yes. Pack weight adds load and can increase energy expenditure, especially on climbs.
Why is my watch different from this estimate?
Wearables may use heart rate, GPS and elevation data. This page uses standardized MET values, so different methods can produce different results.