Thru-Hike Budget Planner

How much does a thru-hike cost?

Hikers often quote a rule of thumb of around $1,000 or more per month on trail, and many long-trail finishers report spending somewhere in the $6,000 to $12,000 range, not counting the gear they started with. The spread is huge because the biggest costs are choices: how often you stop in town, whether you stay in hostels or motels, and how much you eat at restaurants. This planner turns those choices into numbers.

How to use the planner

1. Pick a trail. This fills in the approximate length and typical plans for that trail. Choose “Another trail” to enter your own.
2. Set your pace. Miles per hiking day decides how many days you’re walking. Many hikers start slow and speed up, so use your average, not your best.
3. Add town days and resupply stops. Town days are full or partial days off trail. Resupply stops are every time you buy or pick up food.
4. Enter on-trail and town costs. Food per hiking day, lodging and meals per town day, shoes and gear repairs.
5. Add trip-wide costs. Travel to and from the trail, permits, bills that keep running at home and a buffer for surprises.

How the budget is calculated

Hiking days = trail length ÷ miles per day (rounded up)
Total days = hiking days + town days
Total = trail food + resupply fees + town lodging + town food + shoes + gear + travel + permits + bills at home + buffer

Shoes are counted by the pair: trail length divided by miles per pair, rounded up. Many hikers get 400–600 miles from a pair of trail runners.

Where the money goes

For most thru-hikers, town is the budget. A night in a motel, a big restaurant meal and a resupply can cost more than a week of trail food. That’s why the number of town days has such a large effect on the total. Cutting a few zero days, or sharing rooms, is usually the fastest way to save.

Trail lengths change as routes are rerouted; check the trail organization for the current figure. Several trails also need permits that you apply for months ahead.

Budgeting for UK long-distance trails

UK trails are shorter than the big American routes, but the daily cost can be higher. Villages come every day or two, so resupply is easy and cheap, yet wild camping is only broadly allowed in Scotland under the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. On most of the Pennine Way, Coast to Coast and South West Coast Path you’ll pay for campsites, hostels or B&Bs most nights. To model that, raise the town days, or add a nightly campsite cost into trail food per day. Getting to the start by train is usually the main travel cost.

Ways to keep a thru-hike affordable

• Take “nero” days instead of zeros. Hike into town in the morning and out the next afternoon to get rest with one night of lodging.
• Split rooms. A motel room shared by three or four hikers can cost less per person than a hostel bunk.
• Mix mail drops and town shopping. Mail drops help where stores are small and pricey, but postage adds up.
• Pause bills at home. Suspend subscriptions, insurance you won’t use and rent where possible.
• Keep a buffer. Injuries, gear failures and fire closures all cost money. Ten percent is a sensible starting point.

To plan the food side in more detail, try the backpacking food budget. If your route crosses several national parks, the park pass calculator shows whether an annual pass is worth it.

Last updated September 24, 2026. All costs are in US dollars.