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Camp Food & Calorie Ration Planner
Work out total calories, food weight and food cost for your whole crew and trip.
How the numbers are built
Total calories needed = days × hikers × target calories per person per day. Dividing that by your food's calorie density (calories per ounce) gives total food weight, and multiplying that weight by your cost per pound gives an estimated grocery bill for the trip.
Balancing weight and calories
Because food weight scales directly with calorie density, choosing calorie-dense food (nut butters, olive oil, dehydrated meals, chocolate) over bulkier, water-heavy food is the single biggest lever for keeping your food bag light on a long trip.
Frequently asked questions
How many calories per day should I plan for?
About 2,500 cal/day covers easy, mild-weather trips for most people. Moderate multi-day backpacking with a loaded pack commonly runs 3,000–3,500 cal/day, and cold-weather, high-mileage or high-elevation trips can push 4,000–4,500 cal/day or more, since your body burns extra calories just staying warm.
What's a realistic calorie density for backpacking food?
Dehydrated backpacking meals, nut butters, oils, cheese and chocolate run 120–150+ cal/oz because they're low in water weight. Fresh food and canned goods are much lower, often under 50 cal/oz, which is why most multi-day backpackers lean heavily on dehydrated and calorie-dense snack food.
Should I pack exactly this much food?
Add a small buffer — many backpackers pack 5–10% extra calories or one extra light day of food in case of a weather delay, injury, or just being hungrier than expected. This tool gives you the baseline target, not the absolute maximum to carry.
Does this account for water weight in food?
No — the calorie density figure already reflects dry, backpacking-style food. If you're packing food with high water content (fresh fruit, canned goods), your actual weight per calorie will be higher than what this tool estimates.