Hiking Time Calculator using Naismith’s Rule

Here's a handy little hiking time calculator based on Naismith's rule! How accurate is it? Well, as ever, these things depend on your own fitness and so forth. But I've always found Naismith's rule to be a handy benchmark to aim for in terms of time for any given route.

Stacey MacNaught
Published December 20, 2024
Updated December 2024

“How long will this hike take?”

It’s a question I’ve often been asked when people are coming out for a hike with me. And honestly, the answer is pretty much always “I don’t know,” followed by a rough estimate.

The reality is that a whole host of things can affect how long a hike will take:

Distance
Elevation
Fitness levels of the hikers
The weather
Complexity of navigation
Any scrambling requirement (scrambling is always slower than walking and requires care and caution)

But one commonly used formula for calculating hiking time is Naimith’s Rule, so here’s a handy calculator based on Naismith’s Rule to estimate hiking time.

Hiking Time Calculator

Select Unit: Hike Distance: Elevation Gain:

Naismith’s Rule Formula

If you prefer to manually calculate that, Naismith’s rule says to allow:

15 minutes per km walked
Plus add 10 minutes for every 100m in elevation gain

Of course, this will vary based on fitness, hiking speed and so forth. Poor weather conditions slow you down, for example.

However, I have often found Naismith’s Rule to be a pretty decent benchmark on a reasonable weather conditions day. So if you want to estimate your hiking time, it’s a good starting point.

As you hike more, you tend to get more of a feel for your own pace (and you tend to get fitter and therefore faster) so you become a little better at estimating your hiking times.

Golden rule: allow plenty of time!

Happy hiking!

Stacey MacNaught

Stacey's a hiking enthusiast and mother of 3. She's obsessed with bagging munros and crossing ridges. She also runs a recreational women's football team, has been involved in coaching junior football.