Last Updated on July 27, 2026 by Daniel Globe
Hiking can burn a substantial amount of energy, but there is no single calorie number that fits every hike. Your body weight, pace, trail grade, terrain, hike duration, and pack weight all affect the result. A smooth rolling trail may demand far less energy than a steep climb over rocks, even when both hikes cover the same distance.
Quick Answer
A 155-pound person may burn about 373 calories per hour hiking at a normal pace through fields and hills, about 422 calories cross-country, or about 548 calories hiking with a daypack. Steeper grades can raise the estimate further. These are gross estimates, not exact measurements of individual calorie burn.
Key Takeaways
- Body weight, trail grade, terrain, pace, duration, and pack weight all affect hiking calorie burn.
- The 2024 Adult Compendium lists normal hiking through fields and hills at 5.3 METs, cross-country hiking at 6.0 METs, and hiking or backpacking with a daypack at 7.8 METs.
- A simple estimate is: calories burned = MET value × body weight in kilograms × hours of activity.
- Smartwatch and fitness-tracker calorie totals are useful for trends but should not be treated as precise measurements.
- For weight management, hiking can increase energy expenditure, but eating patterns and long-term activity habits matter too.
How Many Calories Does Hiking Burn?
The exact number varies, but current reference values give a useful starting point. The 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities assigns different metabolic equivalent, or MET, values to different types of hiking and hill walking.
For example, normal-paced hiking through fields and hills without a load is listed at 5.3 METs, while cross-country hiking is 6.0 METs. Because the same activity requires more total energy from a heavier body, estimated calorie burn rises with body weight.
| Body Weight | Normal Hiking, 5.3 METs | Cross-Country Hiking, 6.0 METs |
| 120 lb | About 288 calories/hour | About 327 calories/hour |
| 155 lb | About 373 calories/hour | About 422 calories/hour |
| 180 lb | About 433 calories/hour | About 490 calories/hour |
| 200 lb | About 481 calories/hour | About 544 calories/hour |
| 220 lb | About 529 calories/hour | About 599 calories/hour |
These numbers are estimates of gross energy expenditure during the activity. Your individual result can be higher or lower because a MET value represents a standardized activity cost rather than a laboratory measurement of your personal metabolism.
For a 154-pound person, the CDC currently lists hiking at about 370 calories per hour, which closely matches the 5.3-MET estimate for normal-paced hiking through fields and hills.
Factors Affecting Calorie Burn While Hiking
Several factors can change how much energy you use on the trail. The most important are body weight, grade, terrain, pace, duration, and any load you carry.
Body Weight
A heavier person generally uses more total energy than a lighter person performing the same MET-rated activity for the same amount of time. That is why a 200-pound hiker will usually receive a higher calorie estimate than a 155-pound hiker on the same type of trail.
Incline and Trail Grade
Climbing usually has one of the largest effects on hiking effort. The 2024 Adult Compendium lists unloaded hill climbing at 7.0 METs for a 6% to 10% grade at a moderate-to-brisk pace and 8.8 METs for an 11% to 20% grade at a slow-to-moderate pace.
That does not mean every uphill trail automatically falls into one of those categories. Actual grade changes throughout most hikes, and your speed often slows as the slope becomes steeper.
Terrain
Roots, loose rock, sand, mud, snow, and uneven ground can make hiking more demanding than walking on a smooth surface. Technical terrain can also slow you down, so calorie burn per hour and calorie burn per mile do not always move in the same direction.
Backpack Weight
Carrying a load increases the mass you must move. Research on load carriage shows that metabolic cost increases as carried load increases. The 2024 Compendium lists backpacking or hiking with a daypack at 7.8 METs, compared with 6.0 METs for cross-country hiking without that specific load description.
Pack weight should still be chosen around what you safely need for the trip rather than around a calorie target.
Pace and Duration
Walking faster or sustaining a harder climbing pace can raise energy expenditure per minute. Hiking longer also increases total calorie burn even when the pace is moderate. For most recreational hikers, adding a reasonable amount of time or choosing a naturally hillier route is a more practical way to increase total activity than deliberately overloading a backpack.
Weather and Altitude
Weather changes both effort and safety. Cold exposure can raise energy expenditure under some conditions, especially when the body must produce more heat, but there is no reliable universal percentage that should be added to a hiking calorie estimate.
Heat should be treated primarily as a safety concern. The CDC advises people exercising in hot conditions to pace themselves, drink more water than usual, and stop activity if they feel faint or weak.
Altitude also should not be treated as a simple calorie multiplier. Lower oxygen pressure increases physiological stress and can raise ventilation and heart rate at a given submaximal workload, while maximal exercise capacity falls. The CDC Yellow Book recommends gradual acclimatization for high-altitude travel.
Calculating Calorie Burn During Hiking
A straightforward way to estimate hiking calorie burn is to use a MET value from the Compendium of Physical Activities. One MET is defined as roughly 1 kilocalorie per kilogram of body weight per hour.
Estimated gross calories burned = MET value × body weight in kilograms × duration in hours.
To convert pounds to kilograms, divide your weight in pounds by about 2.205.
Worked Example
Suppose a 180-pound hiker spends two hours hiking cross-country. First convert 180 pounds to about 81.6 kilograms. Cross-country hiking is listed at 6.0 METs.
6.0 × 81.6 × 2 = about 979 gross calories.
This gross figure includes the energy the body would have used during those two hours even at rest. A rough estimate of energy above resting expenditure can be calculated by subtracting 1 MET:
(6.0 − 1.0) × 81.6 × 2 = about 816 calories above resting expenditure.
Note: A watch may label calories as “active,” “total,” or something similar, and manufacturers do not all calculate those categories the same way. Check what your device is actually reporting before comparing its number with a MET calculation.
Pro Tip: Match the MET value to the activity you actually performed. A normal rolling trail, cross-country hike, steep climb, and loaded backpacking trip should not all use the same hiking number.
Benefits of Hiking for Calorie Burn
| Activity | Approx. Calories per Hour for a 155-Pound Person |
| Hiking at a normal pace through fields and hills, no load — 5.3 METs | 373 calories |
| Hiking cross-country — 6.0 METs | 422 calories |
| Climbing hills, 6% to 10% grade, moderate-to-brisk pace — 7.0 METs | 492 calories |
| Hiking or backpacking with a daypack — 7.8 METs | 548 calories |
| Climbing hills, 11% to 20% grade, slow-to-moderate pace — 8.8 METs | 619 calories |
Calorie burn is only one reason to hike. Regular physical activity supports cardiovascular health, muscle and bone health, sleep, daily function, and long-term health. The CDC’s current physical-activity guidance also notes benefits for blood pressure, heart-disease risk, type 2 diabetes risk, and symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Hiking is walking-based and is generally lower impact than running, but that does not make every trail easy on the joints. Steep descents, uneven rocks, long distances, and heavy packs can all add substantial physical stress. Anyone returning from an injury should choose activity based on individual recovery guidance rather than assuming hiking is automatically suitable.
Time outdoors may provide an additional wellbeing benefit. Research on nature-based activities has found improvements in several mental-health outcomes, although hiking should not be viewed as a replacement for professional treatment when treatment is needed.
Tips for Maximizing Calorie Burn While Hiking
You do not need to turn every hike into an extreme workout to increase energy expenditure. Small changes in grade, pace, and duration can make a meaningful difference.
- Choose more elevation: A rolling or uphill trail usually demands more energy than a flat path.
- Increase duration gradually: Spending more time moving raises total energy expenditure without requiring an all-out pace.
- Use a purposeful pace: On safe terrain, alternate comfortable hiking with short brisk sections or climbs.
- Carry what the hike requires: Water, food, weather protection, and safety gear naturally add load. Do not add excessive weight solely to chase a larger calorie number.
- Stay consistent: Regular hiking contributes more to fitness than an occasional session that leaves you too sore or fatigued to stay active.
Warning: Do not sacrifice hydration, heat safety, footing, or pack comfort to burn more calories. In hot conditions, slow down, carry adequate water, and stop if you feel faint or weak. On steep or high-altitude routes, choose a pace you can sustain safely.
Comparing Calorie Burn in Different Types of Hiking Terrain
Terrain can change both the energy cost of each minute and the speed at which you move. A normal-paced hike through fields and hills is listed at 5.3 METs, while cross-country hiking is 6.0 METs. Moderate-to-brisk climbing on a 6% to 10% grade is 7.0 METs, and an 11% to 20% grade at a slow-to-moderate pace is listed at 8.8 METs.
These numbers illustrate why two hikes with the same mileage can produce very different calorie estimates. A short, steep trail may require more energy per minute than a longer flat path, while a technical rocky trail may slow your pace even though it feels difficult.
Downhill hiking also requires muscular work for braking and balance, but there is no single dependable outdoor-downhill calorie figure. Grade, surface, speed, and technique all change the cost. For that reason, treating every descent as a fixed number of calories per hour is misleading.
Hiking vs. Walking and Running for Calorie Burn
The CDC’s current activity table provides a useful comparison for a person weighing about 154 pounds:
| Activity | Approx. Calories per Hour |
| Walking at 3.5 mph | 280 |
| Hiking | 370 |
| Running or jogging at 5 mph | 590 |
Hiking therefore often falls between brisk level walking and running, although steep or loaded hiking can become considerably more demanding than the CDC’s general hiking example.
Monitoring Calorie Burn with Wearable Technology
Smartwatches and fitness trackers can be useful for recording distance, time, heart rate, elevation, pace, and route history. Those measurements make it easier to compare one hike with another and follow changes in fitness over time.
The calorie number deserves more caution. A systematic review of commercially available wearables found that energy-expenditure estimates were less accurate than measurements such as steps and, for some devices, heart rate. Another systematic review found substantial error in energy-expenditure estimates across tested wrist-worn devices.
That does not make your watch useless. It simply means a reading such as “742 calories” should be treated as an estimate rather than a laboratory measurement.
Note: For progress tracking, consistency is often more useful than chasing an exact calorie value. Using the same device and similar hike conditions can help you compare trends even when the absolute calorie number is imperfect.
Incorporating Hiking into a Fitness Routine for Weight Management
Hiking can support weight management because physical activity increases energy expenditure. However, the relationship between exercise calories and body weight is not as simple as burning a fixed number of calories and expecting a fixed amount of weight loss.
The CDC notes that combining physical activity with reduced calorie intake creates the calorie deficit needed for weight loss and that most weight loss occurs from reducing calories. Regular physical activity remains especially important for overall health and maintaining lost weight.
For general health, the CDC recommends that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, or an equivalent amount of vigorous activity, plus muscle-strengthening activity on at least two days. Hiking can contribute to the aerobic portion of that routine, while dedicated resistance exercise can cover muscle groups and movement patterns that hiking alone may not fully train.
If your goal is weight management, avoid automatically “eating back” every calorie displayed by a watch. Use calorie estimates as one piece of information alongside hunger, recovery, nutrition quality, progress over time, and any guidance from a qualified health professional.
Beyond calorie tracking, small gear choices can also affect comfort and enjoyment on the trail. If you are building out your hiking kit, this existing guide to compact binoculars for hiking covers one optional trail accessory.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What factors affect the number of calories burned while hiking?
The main factors are body weight, hike duration, pace, trail grade, terrain, and carried load. Steeper grades and heavier loads generally increase energy demand, while actual results still vary among individuals.
How can I calculate the number of calories burned while hiking?
Choose a MET value that matches your type of hiking and multiply it by your weight in kilograms and the number of hours you hiked. For example, cross-country hiking is 6.0 METs in the 2024 Adult Compendium.
What is the average number of calories burned while hiking?
There is no useful single average for everyone. A 155-pound person is estimated to use about 373 calories per hour during normal-paced hiking through fields and hills, about 422 calories per hour cross-country, and about 548 calories per hour hiking or backpacking with a daypack.
Does hiking uphill burn more calories than hiking on flat terrain?
Usually, yes. Uphill travel raises the work required to move your body against gravity. The 2024 Adult Compendium lists several hill-climbing activities at higher MET values than ordinary level walking or normal-paced hiking.
Is hiking a good way to burn calories and lose weight?
Hiking can meaningfully increase energy expenditure and support cardiovascular fitness. For weight loss, however, total eating patterns and long-term activity matter. The CDC notes that most weight loss comes from reducing calorie intake while regular physical activity supports health and weight maintenance.
Does carrying a backpack increase hiking calorie burn?
Yes. Carrying additional mass generally raises the metabolic cost of walking. The 2024 Adult Compendium lists hiking or backpacking with a daypack at 7.8 METs. Pack weight should still be based on the needs of the trip and what you can carry safely.
How accurate are smartwatch calorie estimates while hiking?
They are best treated as estimates. Research reviews have found that consumer wearables can track some measures, such as steps or heart rate, more reliably than energy expenditure. Use calorie readings to compare trends rather than assuming the number is exact.
Sources
- 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities — Walking Activities — MET values for hiking, cross-country hiking, backpacking, hill grades, loads, and walking.
- CDC — Physical Activity and Your Weight and Health — hiking calorie example, health benefits, weekly activity recommendations, and weight-management guidance.
- CDC — Heat and Athletes — hydration, pacing, and heat-illness precautions for outdoor exercise.
- CDC Yellow Book — High-Altitude Travel and Altitude Illness — altitude physiology, reduced oxygen availability, exercise performance, and acclimatization.
- Fuller et al. — Reliability and Validity of Commercially Available Wearable Devices — evidence on wearable step, heart-rate, and energy-expenditure accuracy.
- Nature-Based Outdoor Activities for Mental and Physical Health: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis — evidence regarding mental-health outcomes from nature-based activities.