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Hiking Time Calculator (Naismith)

Estimate hiking time from distance and elevation using Naismith's rule with a Langmuir descent correction.

Open Hiking Time Calculator (Naismith) and you get an answer straight away, with no account to create. It sits under Running & endurance in our catalogue, alongside Pace to finish time calculator and Race time predictor.

How to use it

  1. Open the tool — no signup or install needed.
  2. Enter your input or adjust the available options.
  3. Get your result instantly, then copy or download it.

Frequently asked questions

What does Hiking Time Calculator (Naismith) do?

Estimate hiking time from distance and elevation using Naismith's rule with a Langmuir descent correction.

When would I actually use this?

Preparing a race: the pace a target time needs, the splits to hold it, and the training zones that sit under it — on foot, and equally on a bike or in a pool, where the same session is measured in watts or in a hundred-metre split instead.

What is the most common mistake?

Scaling a time linearly to a longer distance. A marathon is not two half-marathons; race predictors use an exponent around 1.06 precisely because fatigue is not proportional.

How is Hiking Time Calculator (Naismith) different from Pace to finish time calculator?

They sit next to each other but answer different questions: Pace to finish time calculator is the one to open when you need it to turn your running pace and a race distance into an expected finish time. Pick whichever matches what you're starting from — both are free.

Is there a tool for the next step?

Race time predictor is the closest one after this: Predict your finish time over a new distance from a recent race result (Riegel formula).

What else is worth having open alongside it?

Walking time calculator and Backpacking Food Weight Calculator — they come up in the same task often enough to be worth a second tab.

Where do the figures come from?

Pace arithmetic is exact. Race predictions follow Riegel's formula, which assumes training matched to the longer distance — without it the prediction is optimistic.

Further reading

All guides
GuideHiking Pace: Naismith's Rule and the Corrections It NeedsNaismith's 1892 rule times a route in two lines of arithmetic. It also ignores descent completely and assumes a fit walker with no pack. Here is the rule, Langmuir's fix, and Tobler's continuous alternative — whose fastest speed is on a downhill, not on the flat.ExplainerTent Footprints, Floor Area and the Numbers That Do Not Mean What You ThinkThere is a standard behind two-person, and its berth is 24 inches wide. Divide real floor plans by their occupants, compare the result with a sleeping pad, then compute how much of a quoted peak height actually exists: in a straight-sided A-frame, sitting height covers 18 per cent of the floor width.GuideHow Much Food to Carry: The Number That Matters Is Calories per GramA published walking-energetics equation turns body mass, pack weight, speed and terrain into a daily calorie figure. But calories are not what you carry — mass is. Work the arithmetic and the planning number stops being calories per day and becomes calories per ounce.ExplainerSleeping Bag Temperature Ratings, and What Comfort Actually MeansThe numbers on a sleeping bag come from ISO 23537-1, which publishes four figures and lets retailers print one. The standard measures a heated manikin's heat loss — so it measures insulation, and its own test mat is R 4.8. Put the same bag on an R 1.5 pad and the heat leaving through your back more than triples.How-toHow to Calculate Running Speed: Distance Over TimeSpeed equals distance divided by time. Learn how to compute your running speed in mph, tell speed apart from pace and convert between the two.How-toHow Long Does It Take to Walk a Given Distance?Walking time is distance divided by speed. Learn the average walking speed of about 3 mph and how to estimate the time for any distance.