Hiking time calculator
Enter the length of the route and the total height you climb, and the calculator adds up the walking time with Naismith's rule, the classic rule of thumb from Scottish hillwalking. Add the minutes you plan to spend resting to get the whole day's time.
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How to use it
- Choose metric or US units.
- Enter the length of the route and the total ascent.
- Add the minutes you plan to spend on breaks, if any.
- Read the time in hours and minutes. The breakdown shows how much comes from the distance and how much from the climb.
How it works
Naismith’s rule gives walking time as distance ÷ 5 km per hour plus ascent ÷ 600 m per hour. Miles and feet are converted first (1 mile = 1.609344 km, 1 ft = 0.3048 m). The two parts and your breaks are added and rounded to the nearest minute.
Worked example
A 15 km route with 900 m of ascent: 15 ÷ 5 = 3 hours for the distance, 900 ÷ 600 = 1.5 hours for the climb. The total is 4 hours 30 minutes before breaks. With 30 minutes of stops, plan for 5 hours.
Tips
- Add the ascent from every hill on the route, not just the net height gain.
- Round up when you are walking in a group, with children or with a heavy pack.
- Work out the time back to the trailhead before the light fades, not only the time to the top.
Frequently asked questions
What is Naismith's rule?
A rule of thumb for walking time: allow one hour for every 5 km (about 3 miles) covered, and add one hour for every 600 m (about 2,000 ft) of ascent. It was proposed by the Scottish mountaineer William W. Naismith in 1892. This calculator uses exactly those two figures.
Does the rule include time for going downhill?
No. This calculator counts the climbing only and does not add or subtract time for descent. Steep or rough descents can be slower than the flat pace and long gentle ones faster, so treat the result as a starting estimate.
Does the result include rests?
Only the minutes you type into the breaks field. Naismith's rule is a moving time, so add your planned stops for lunch, photos and navigation to get the time you will actually be out.
How accurate is it?
It is a rule of thumb for a fit walker with a light pack on a reasonable path. Heavy loads, rough ground, snow, heat, a slow group or a long route usually make the real time longer, so allow extra margin and leave early.
What do I enter as total ascent?
The sum of all the climbing along the route, not the height difference between start and finish. A route that goes up 400 m, down, and up 300 m again has 700 m of ascent. Map tools and route profiles usually give this figure.