Hiking Tools & Calculators
Free, practical calculators for the numbers behind a hike — time on trail, calories burned, pack weight, water to carry, trail difficulty, and a safe daylight turnaround. Educational planning tools, not a substitute for sound judgement and current conditions.
Hiking Time Calculator
Estimate how long a hike takes from its distance and elevation gain with Naismith's rule, cross-checked against Tobler's hiking function and scaled for your pace
Hiking Calorie Burn Calculator
Estimate the calories a hike burns from your body weight, pack weight, distance, speed, grade, and terrain using the Pandolf load-carriage equation — climbing and load actually count
Backpack Weight Calculator
Add up base weight and consumables to find your total pack weight, see it as a share of your body weight, and check where your kit sits from ultralight to traditional
Hiking Water Needs Calculator
Work out how much water to carry from the hours on trail, the temperature, and how hard you'll be working — with a flag for when electrolytes are worth packing
Trail Difficulty Rating Calculator
Rate how hard a hike is from its distance and elevation gain with the Shenandoah numerical rating, plus Petzoldt energy miles as a second read on the effort
Daylight Turnaround Calculator
Find the latest safe time to turn back from your start time, sunset, estimated round-trip time, and a safety buffer, so a slow ascent never leaves you finishing in the dark