Calories Burned Hiking: By Terrain and Pack

A 155 lb (70 kg) person hiking at a moderate pace for 30 minutes burns approximately 186 kcal — roughly equivalent to a medium banana plus a small handful of almonds.

That single figure depends on three levers: your body weight, the duration of the hike, and the intensity of the terrain. Pull any one of them and the number changes meaningfully. This post breaks down the math so you know what to expect before you hit the trail — and how to log it accurately afterward.

Calorie burn by body weight and duration

The standard method for estimating exercise calorie burn uses MET values — Metabolic Equivalent of Task — from the Compendium of Physical Activities. Moderate hiking (cross-country, rolling terrain, no significant load) is assigned a MET of 5.3.

The formula is straightforward:

Calories = MET x body weight (kg) x time (hours)

Duration	125 lb (56.7 kg)	155 lb (70.3 kg)	185 lb (83.9 kg)
15 min	75 kcal	93 kcal	111 kcal
30 min	150 kcal	186 kcal	222 kcal
45 min	225 kcal	279 kcal	334 kcal
60 min	301 kcal	373 kcal	445 kcal

Source: Compendium of Physical Activities MET values (Ainsworth et al., 2011 update), moderate hiking code 02038.

Use our calories burned calculator to run the same formula for your exact weight, duration, and activity type.

What changes the number

Terrain and grade are the biggest modifier. A flat trail at 2% grade behaves like a brisk walk (MET closer to 3.5). A sustained 10–15% climb with root-covered ground can push the effective MET above 6.5, adding 20–30% more burn over the same time compared with flat hiking. Rocky scrambles are higher still.

Pack weight adds directly to the mass your muscles must move. Carrying a load equal to 20–25% of body weight increases energy expenditure by roughly 10–15% on level ground and more on steep grades. A 30 lb pack on a 155 lb hiker effectively shifts the calorie estimate toward that of a 180 lb unloaded walker.

Your fitness level influences efficiency. Well-trained hikers often burn slightly fewer calories per minute than novices at the same pace because conditioned muscles are more economical. MET-based tables will modestly overestimate burn for experienced trail runners and underestimate it for beginners on uneven ground.

Altitude raises the cost of the same external work because the heart must pump harder to deliver adequate oxygen. At elevations above 8,000 ft (2,400 m), expenditure can be 10–20% higher than sea-level estimates for the same pace and grade.

How to actually track it

MET tables give a useful starting estimate, but individual variation is wide. The most practical tracking approach combines two data points:

1. Log duration and terrain honestly. Note whether the hike was flat, rolling, or steep. If you carried a significant pack, log the weight. A fitness tracker or GPS watch gives you elevation gain, which is the most reliable terrain proxy.

2. Photograph your post-hike meal. You’ll likely be hungry. Hikers frequently underestimate how much they eat in the recovery window — a trail mix handful, a recovery shake, and a “light” lunch can easily total 700–900 kcal. The same systematic underestimation that erodes calorie deficits in general — covered in detail in counting calories to lose weight — applies double after exercise when appetite is elevated.

For ongoing awareness of how hiking stacks up against your daily energy needs, our TDEE calculator lets you set an activity level and see how your total expenditure shifts when you add a weekly hiking habit.

The most reliable tracking habit is simple: snap a photo of what you eat after the hike, and let CalEye log the calories in seconds.