Walking Pace Calculator

This calculator estimates how long a walk or hike will take. Enter the distance, the speed you can actually keep up on that ground, the total ascent from your map or GPX file, and any planned stops. It returns total time, walking time, the extra time for climbing, your pace per kilometer and per mile, an approximate step count, and a calorie estimate for a 70 kg walker.

Use it to plan a day in the hills, to work out when to set off so you finish before dark, or simply to turn a daily walk into a pace. On flat routes the ascent and break fields can be left at zero, and the result is the plain walking time.

The step count assumes a 0.75 m stride; your own figure comes from the steps to distance calculator. For a calorie figure at your own weight, use the calories burned walking calculator.

The ascent allowance is Naismith's rule, devised by the Scottish mountaineer William Naismith in 1892: 3 miles an hour plus half an hour for every 1,000 ft of ascent, usually given in metric as 5 km/h plus 1 hour per 600 m. This calculator keeps the climbing allowance but lets you set your own flat speed.

Naismith ignores descent, rough ground, heavy packs and fatigue. On long or steep days, mountain-leader training commonly adds Langmuir's corrections: roughly 10 minutes off per 300 m of gentle descent and 10 minutes on per 300 m of steep descent. The pace output is your flat moving pace and does not include the ascent allowance.

Many fitness trackers show speed while route guides use pace. Most healthy adults walk at about 4.5–5.5 km/h (2.8–3.4 mph) on level ground; hill paths, rough ground and a heavy pack slow that down.

• Count all the climbing. Total ascent is the sum of every uphill section. A ridge walk that crosses three summits can gain far more height than the highest point suggests. Mapping apps and GPX files list it as "elevation gain".
• Use your real speed. Time yourself on a familiar path rather than assuming 5 km/h. Groups move at the speed of the slowest walker.
• Slow down for loads and ground. A pack over about 10 kg, bog, scree, snow or a lot of stiles can each take 0.5–1 km/h off your speed.
• Add the breaks you will actually take. A lunch stop, photo stops and navigation checks often total 30–60 minutes on a full day.

To answer "how long will it take to walk X", enter the distance and speed and leave ascent and breaks at zero. At 5 km/h, 1 km takes 12 minutes, a mile takes about 19 minutes, 10 km takes 2 hours and a half marathon (21.1 km) takes about 4 h 13 min of walking. To compare walking with running for the same distance, try the running pace calculator.