How Long Does it Take to Hike 8 Miles? {6 Things to Consider}
Understanding how long you’ll be out on the trail is important for many reasons.
You’ll know how much food and water to take, you can let others know when to expect you home, and you can make plans for afterward.
So, how long does it take to hike 8 miles?
The time you’ll be out for this distance, which is in between what’s considered a short hike and what is long, can be tough to determine.
But when you consider a few important factors, you’ll be able to narrow it down and have a pretty good idea.
How Long Does it Take to Hike 8 Miles?
The time that it takes to hike a certain distance varies from person to person and from hike to hike.
From your experience hiking, the difficulty of the trail, and how popular it is, there are a few things to think about.
But for the average person, it’ll take approximately 3.5 to 5 hours to finish an 8-mile hike.
This is assuming that the trail is in good condition, there isn’t an excessive amount of elevation gain, and the person is in average shape.
If the trail is rough, you’re carrying a heavier pack, or you’re climbing a mountain, the time could push to upwards of 7 hours.
And on the other hand, if you’re a fast hiker, have no backpack, and the trail is flat, expect that time to be cut almost in half.
Factors to Consider
When determining how long it will personally take you to complete an 8-mile hike, you should think about these factors.
Each of these plays some sort of role in how long a hike will take.
Your Average Hiking Pace
Understanding your average hiking pace will help you tremendously in figuring out how long it will take you to make it back to the trailhead.
Many people don’t pay attention to these stats, but they’re pretty easy to find!
If you use a navigation app such as All Trails, it will tell you what your average pace is per mile.
This can be used to calculate the estimated time that you’ll be on the trail.
An average hiker hikes about 2 miles per hour, while faster hikers can sometimes get up to 4 miles per hour.
For example, if you’re hiking a fairly flat trail, and you hike about 2 miles per hour, you could finish an 8-mile hike in around 4 hours.
Your fitness level can also be a good way to gauge this.
If you’re in good physical condition, you’ll likely be able to hike a bit faster than those who are in poor physical shape.
Elevation Gain and Loss
A huge factor how long a hike takes is how much elevation gain and loss you’ll see on the trail.
Having to trudge uphill can really slow you down, therefore affecting your hike speed.
You also may need to take more breaks to rest and drink water, slowing you down even more.
And the further you go uphill, the slower you can expect your average pace to become.
On the other hand, if most of the hike is downhill, you may go faster than you normally do.
During hikes like this, you may take few to no rest breaks, as the trail is much easier to manage.
Another thing to consider is that if the trail is uphill on the way to the turnaround point and downhill on the way back, your hike back to the trailhead will likely be faster.
Difficulty Rating
You can usually base how hard a hike will be on the difficulty rating that can be found on All Trails.
Sometimes, these ratings aren’t super accurate, but you can typically check the ratings and reviews to see if it’s correct.
A hike that is rated as difficult will obviously take you longer to complete than if you were doing a hike that’s rated as easy.
Terrain
The terrain of the trail also plays a role in determining how long it takes to hike 8 miles.
Hikes that feature rough trails, ones that are covered in rocks, exposed tree roots, or have stream crossings, are more difficult.
These will take longer to complete, compared to flat trails with nothing to worry about.
Some trails even have areas with boulder fields, fallen trees, or snow to pass, again, making the hike tougher.
Trail Popularity
While this isn’t as big of a factor, because you can typically pass hikers who are slower than you, you’ll still want to think about it.
There are some people on the trails who don’t understand hiking etiquette and may not pull off to the side to let faster hikers pass.
(This is your hint- uphill hikers have the right-of-way and if someone is sneaking up behind you, ask if they want to pass! 🤗)
You also will probably have to wait longer at the viewpoint to get the pictures that you want or see the view without people blocking you.
You also may have trouble finding a parking spot at the trailhead. So factor this into your time as well.
More popular trails in general will typically just take longer to finish.
Break Times
Another thing to think about is how often you typically take breaks and if you’ll take a longer break at the halfway point.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll take multiple water breaks along the way and stop for at least an hour at the main viewpoint.
Some people pack hiking lunches to enjoy, while others see the view and head back to the trailhead.
Other
A few other random factors to think about are how fast your hiking buddies are and how heavy your backpack is.
Snow is another factor that can cause hikes to go slower than how they normally would.
These two things can slow you down or speed you up as well, as consider them when determining your pace.
Hike Timing Tools
There are some fantastic tools out there that provide hikers with great ways to track their distances, paces, and more.
Here are a few of the best.
All Trails
This app allows you to find new trails, track your hikes, favorite the best ones, and read trip reports from past hikers.
Trails NH
Use this handy tool to calculate about how long any distance hike will take you to complete.
Cairn
Another great app that can help you find hikes in your area and track them while you’re on the trail.
FAQ
Here are a few more great frequently asked questions about hiking an 8-mile trail to help you plan your trip.
How Should I Prepare to Hike 8 Miles?
8 miles is certainly no short trail and wouldn’t be entirely suitable for beginner hikers.
Before you get out there, you should do a few things to prepare yourself for the hike.
One of those things is to start on shorter trails. Try to hit a few that are in the 5-6 mile range and some heavy elevation ones in the 2-3 mile range.
This will give you a good idea of how hiking feels and will also let you establish your average pace.
You can also do some working out like weightlifting, cardio exercises, and core.
It can take a while to see changes in your fitness level, so you shouldn’t only do this the night before.
Start the hike hydrated by drinking plenty of water the day before, the morning of, and during the entire hike.
Keep your energy high by eating while on the trail and also by eating a nutritious dinner the night before and breakfast the morning of.
Lastly, have the proper gear for your hike, which you can read more about below.
What Should I Pack for an 8-Mile Hike?
There are a variety of things that you should be packing for a hike, especially one that’s 8 miles long.
The 10 essentials are what every hiker is recommended to pack on any hike they embark on.
This includes water, food, navigation, first aid, extra clothes, shelter, sun protection, a headlamp, a knife, and fire starters.
Other must-have hike items include a comfortable backpack, bug spray, a trash bag, a portable charger, and a camera.
Is Hiking 8 Miles Hard?
Hiking 8 miles is definitely no easy feat and is more than a lot of people do at once.
You should ensure that you’re prepared for the hike by following the guide above and understanding how long it will take you to finish it.
But if you’re in good physical condition and have properly prepared, you’ll be able to complete an 8-mile hike and will be glad you did.
After all, some of the best views come from some of the longer hikes.
How Much Water Do I Need for an 8-Mile Hike?
The standard guideline for packing water for a hike is 1/2 liter for every 1 hour on the trail.
So if you’re hiking 8 miles at an average pace (2 mph), then you’ll need to have at least 4 liters of water for this hike.
This is a lot of water to carry with you from home, so you may choose to filter water if there are water sources available along the trail.
Wrap-Up: How Long Does an 8-Mile Hike Take?
Figuring out just how long a hike will actually take you can be tough, especially with so many factors to think about.
But when you put them all together and think about yourself, you won’t be asking yourself, “how long does an 8-mile hike take??” anymore.
Use this guide next time you’re looking to give someone a time frame or are packing a lunch for the trail.
