Hike Feasibility Planner
Plan your day hike: hike time, daylight and water
Hike Time, Daylight and Water
Planning concerns
This is a planning estimate, not a drinking target. Your needs can vary substantially with conditions, effort and individual sweat rate. Drink according to your needs and avoid forcing fluids simply to match the estimate.
How this was calculated, and what it does not tell you
The multipliers and the 600 m per hour ascent allowance are THA modelling assumptions, not validated corrections. Water rates are THA planning assumptions informed by hydration guidance; they do not establish a hydration requirement.
This tool provides planning guidance based on the information you enter. Results are estimates, not confirmation that a hike is safe or suitable for your group. Check current conditions and access, consider everyone's capabilities, and adjust your plan when circumstances change.
Before you leave, share your trip plan and expected return time with a trusted person, and agree what they should do if you do not return.
This compares your estimated hike time with the daylight you entered and estimates the water to carry. It does not rate whether the hike is achievable or safe.
Hike Feasibility Planner
Why feasibility matters before you start
Most hikers assess a planned walk by distance alone. But distance is only one input. A 20 km hike in cool conditions on a clear track is a very different challenge from the same distance in 35°C heat over rough terrain with a heavy pack and limited daylight. When those factors stack against each other, even moderately, the pressure on multiple safety systems builds quickly. The Hike Feasibility Planner exists to surface that pressure before you leave, not after things have gone wrong.
What the planner shows
The planner is for day hikes. It works out three things from what you enter. First, it estimates your hiking time from your distance, total ascent, terrain, navigation, pack and walking pace. Your moving time is the walking time on its own, and your estimated hike time adds the breaks you plan (the planner suggests a break time for you, and you can change it). Second, it compares your estimated hike time with your daylight, which is the time between your planned start and sunset, and tells you how much daylight is left after the hike, or by how much the hike runs past sunset. Third, it estimates the water to carry, using your estimated hike time, the expected temperature and your effort level, plus extra time for delays (one hour by default). The water figures come from the same planning scale as our Water Requirements Calculator, and the time estimate uses the same method as our Hiking Time Calculator. The multipliers, the climbing allowance and the water rates are Trail Hiking Australia planning assumptions, not validated measurements. The planner does not give an overall rating or score. It does not have the information needed to say whether a hike is achievable or safe.
How to read your result
Start with the daylight statement. It is a plain fact based on your inputs: either you finish with daylight to spare, you use all of it with no allowance for delays, or you finish after sunset. Then read the planning concerns. These are listed only when something you entered calls for a second look, such as a hike that runs past sunset, hot or very hot conditions, a water capacity shortfall, uncertain or no water refill, route-finding, very rough terrain or a heavy pack. A concern is not a verdict. It is a prompt to check that part of your plan. The “How this was calculated” section shows every figure and formula used, so you can change your inputs and see what would make the plan work better.
Connecting to the broader Safety Systems Framework
The Hike Feasibility Planner sits at the intersection of four safety systems from the Hiking Safety Systems Framework: Navigation & Positioning (route complexity and time), Hydration & Fuel (water demand under conditions), Environmental Protection (temperature exposure), and Load Carrying & Mobility (pack weight and terrain effort). These systems don’t operate independently. A tight daylight margin increases time pressure, which increases pace, which increases water consumption and fatigue. The planner shows time, daylight and water together so you can see how they affect each other.
A starting point, not a guarantee
The planner is a decision-support tool, not a substitute for field judgement. It doesn’t account for unexpected weather, route closures, river crossings, injury, the condition of individual walkers in your group, or how much water you start with. It is for day hikes only, so it has no camp water or overnight planning. What it provides is a structured, consistent starting point, a way of asking the right questions before you commit to a plan. If the planner lists a concern, that’s not a reason to abandon the idea. It’s a prompt to look more carefully at that part of your plan, and to consider whether adjustments to timing, conditions or route would help. Before you leave, share your trip plan and expected return time with a trusted person, and agree what they should do if you do not return.
Plan Your Hike in Six Steps
The tools below help you assess whether a hike is achievable, understand terrain difficulty, estimate walking time, plan hydration, identify key risks, and determine what equipment to carry before heading out.
Explore more planning tools
Hiking Calculators collection →
