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What Is the Hiking Time Estimator?

I put together a quick little tool to help you estimate how long a hike or walk might take. Nothing fancy, just something that works.

The Hiking Time Estimator is a free, hands-on tool that helps you map out your hike and know what you’re getting into before you hit the trail.

Just draw your route on the map and it’ll crunch the numbers: distance, elevation gain, and how long it’ll likely take you to finish.

It’s like having a trail-savvy friend who’s really good at math.

It’s especially useful for:

• Planning day hikes
• Preparing for new or unfamiliar trails
• Estimating how early to start to finish before dark
• Mapping custom routes with real-world road or trail snapping

You can use it to visualize your hike, adjust the route as needed, and even download your results to take with you.

How to Use It – Step by Step

1. Check the box at the top if you want to snap your route to known roads or trails.
2. Click the polyline (draw) tool in the top-right corner of the map.
3. Click to add points along your hiking route.
4. Double-click to finish your line.
5. Your total distance, estimated elevation gain (in feet), and hike time will display below the map.
6. Click Export Data to download the results as a text file.

A few other things. If you are on a desktop or laptop, you can use the keyboard to move the map around or your mouse. The mouse wheel (if equipped) can zoom in and out!