I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hiking in the Great Outdoors.
My favourite way to escape the hustle and bustle of city life, I’ve always found something incredibly cathartic about hitting the trail and exploring in the wonders of mother nature.
A fantastic form of exercise, those with some experience however will know hiking can also prove to be pretty hungry work!
Why do I need snacks for hiking?
Personally, I’m not much of a snacker myself – preferring to get my fill with hefty portions at set mealtimes instead of grazing through the day.
This all changes when I’m on one of my walking excursions however. While you can get away with not snacking on a regular sedentary day, hiking for prolonged periods requires a LOT of energy.
Did you know? – even just hiking a short 10km is said to burn upwards of 700 calories!
Therefore, in addition to packing plenty of water to keep hydration levels topped up, I also bring along a number of hiker-friendly snacks to provide my body with enough fuel to tackle whatever trail lays ahead.
What make a good hiking snack?
When determining what makes a good hiking snack, there are three main questions to keep in mind:
- Is it a good source of energy?
- Is it easily portable?
- Will it go off?
Obviously, the first thing you’re looking for is high calorie foods which can effectively replenish the energy you’ll burn through on the trail.
This is why foods such as oats and bananas are so popular; full of healthy carbs which give you a long-lasting hit of slow-release energy.
After carbohydrates, you’ll also ideally have some foods with protein and healthy fats to balance your nutrition & keep your body effectively performing throughout the hike.
Secondly, you want snacks which are easy to carry.
Ask yourself whether your food choices can conveniently fit into your rucksack and whether they can be eaten while on the move. Anything too weighty, bulky or requiring too much prep time is usually best avoided.
Avoid the faff & keep it simple!
Lastly, you want to ensure the snacks you bring won’t go off during your hike.
For example, while undeniably tasty, unrefrigerated hummus can start going off after just 4 hours, while yoghurt starts souring after just 2! To err on the safe side, I only bring foods I’m certain can last for a while out of the fridge.
What are the best snacks for hiking?
To help readers of the blog, I’ve thought long and hard to whittle down the below list to 10 of my very favourite hiking snacks. Bring any combination of these along on your next adventure and I’m sure your body will be raring to go!
In no particular order, let’s get to it 👇
Flapjacks
Starting with perhaps the most iconic hiking snack, flapjacks reign as one of the kings when it comes to trail food.
High in calories and an absolute treat for the taste buds, flapjacks are made primarily from oats – well-known as being a complex carbohydrate – slowly releasing energy over a longer period of time when compared to more quick releasing sources such as sugar.
That isn’t to say quick releasing carbs are bad however; having a balance of both on the trail is key, which is precisely the reason as to why flapjacks are so great. The perfect combination of oats and sugars for both an instant and prolonged umph on your hikes!
For the budding bakers amongst you, there are certainly no shortage of recipes to follow on the web.
I’m admittedly not much of a baker, but my girlfriend sometimes rustles up homemade flapjacks for our hikes. There are loads of recipes available on the web, a great one in particular being this no-frills recipe from BBC Good Food. Tasty stuff!
Baking not your thing? Then I’d definitely recommend the TREK High Protein Flapjack Cocoa Oat. Containing 9 grams of protein and also gluten free, this vegan-friendly bar comes in a range of flavours and quite regularly finds it way into my hiking backpack.
You can currently bag a 16-pack of these delights on Amazon for just £13.61 – working out at roughly 85p per bar. Bargain!
Hard boiled eggs
A tried and tested snack through the ages, eggs are an absolutely cracking food choice for us walkers.
Terrible pun I know…
Yokes aside, with various ways to cook eggs, one of the most efficient methods for hikers on the go is simply to hard boil them.
Quick to prep, easy to carry and full of healthy fats and protein to supplement the carb heavy foods in your rucksack, did you know that just 2 eggs can provide around a quarter of your daily recommended protein intake?
Now, I must stress that the FDA does claim unrefrigerated hard boiled eggs won’t last longer than 2 hours, but I’ve personally never had issues eating them past this time scale which is why I’ve still decided to include them in my list.
During my attempt at the National 3 Peaks Challenge last year for example, I must’ve eaten hard boiled eggs more than 15 hours into the challenge no problem!
To prolong the lifespan of a hard-boiled egg when out and about, the main thing is to ensure the shell stays intact to prevent exposure to air. Once the egg is no longer airtight, it’ll start to go off much more quickly.
Bonus tip – Add a pinch of salt to your egg. Not only will it taste miles better, but you’ll also be replenishing essential electrolytes lost in your sweat.
Nevertheless, in hotter & more humid climates you should definitely maintain cautious with snacking on eggs during longer hikes, and if you’re ever unsure as to whether an egg is good to eat, it’s always worth doing the smell test. If you get a whiff off sulphur or an unpleasant aroma, best to whizz it!
Peanut Butter combos
Packed with calories and rich in fibre, protein and healthy fats, I really can’t get enough of peanut butter!
Whether I’m on a hike or just lounging around at home, I’m always more than happy to eat it straight out of the jar.
Luckily, if you find peanut butter too dry to eat on its own, this delightful spread also goes hand in hand with a whole range of foods, particularly certain fruits.
Two of my favourite fruit combos are peanut butter and apple or peanut butter and banana.
While peanut butter ‘jelly’ (jam for us Brits) is perhaps the most popular choice of spread on a peanut butter sandwich, for hiking I prefer to get a banana in there for extra slow releasing carbs.
If a sandwich sounds too heavy going, a lighter snack option I love is pre chopping apple slices to dip straight in the jar. An absolute taste sensation.
There’s such a variety of peanut butter out there on the shelves today, but a lot of these contain heaps of additives which I’m not a huge fan of…
This is why one of our go-to peanut butter brands is Whole Earth, which uses only natural ingredients and contains no added sugar.
And for those who’re wondering whether I’m a crunchy or smooth kinda guy…CRUNCHY peanut butter all the way 💪
Kendal Mint Cake
A Lake District speciality, Kendal Mint Cake has been staple hiking nosh for well over a hundred years now.
Playing a prominent role in mountaineering history, Kendal Mint Cake even helped fuel the first ascent of Everest in 1953! That should be all the evidence you need to know this stuff is good hiking tackle!
Often dubbed as being the world’s first energy bar, the high sugar content in Kendal Mint Cake especially comes in handy at high altitudes where other types of foods become hard to digest. Perfect for those steep hill walks!
A simple recipe that’s remained unchanged since it’s inception in 1869, a Kendall Mint Cake simply consists of sugar, glucose syrup, water and peppermint oil.
If it’s good enough for summiting Everest, then it’s more than worthy of fueling my measly rambles 😂
Banana Loaf
We go through bananas like the clappers in our household, so baking this simple delight is a great way to use up the ones which are getting a bit too bruised and mushy to take out on the trail.
One of my all-time fave hiking treats, a single serving of homemade banana loaf contains a whopping 500 calories and is easy to rustle up (even for non-bakers) due to its simple, faff-free recipe.
Crammed with a sizeable dose of carbs, fats & protein, you’ll also get in the good books with your hiking pals since there’ll be plenty to go round!
For a tip-top banana loaf recipe, you’re best bet would be to check out this blog post by Bushka’s Kitchen here…so tasty you might think twice about sharing it!
Pasta
Easy to prep, scrumptious and coming in countless varieties, pasta is one of the best meal options for hikers when it comes to a high carb dish while on the move.
Delicious whether consumed hot or cold, one of my go-to dishes when hiking tends to be the classic tuna & sweetcorn pasta combo.
Quick and straightforward to rustle up, pasta is also one of the best meal choices when it comes to food prepping for multiple hikers. Just cook a big batch, divide it into separate tupperware tubs and your good to go. Easy-peasy food prepping for a family excursion!
Whatever ingredients you opt to put in your pasta recipe, just make sure it can last out of the fridge for duration since not all foods will last long in the dark, warm confides of your backpack.
Beef jerky
Beef jerky – or dried meats in general – are a solid snack for meat-eating hikers due to the high protein count which can supplement the carb-heavy foods packed in your rucksack.
Quality calories to fuel your body, beef jerky is also full of iron and high in salt, which can aid in replenishing the vital nutrients lost via sweat and bodily fluids during your adventuring.
Just be prepared – the salt will certainly make you thirsty!
Available in pretty much all your major supermarkets, for a quality beef-jerky I’d have to say BEEFIT is currently one of the top dogs.
Cut from traceable British & Irish silverside beef, BEEFIT is based on a Sussex farm and offers a number of enticing flavours. I’ll leave a link to one of their variety packs below if you’d like to check them out:
Energy gels
Often used by cyclists, I was gifted a batch of energy gels before a charity hiking challenge last year, and safe to say they work a treat for walkers too!
For the scientifically inclined, these fructose-based energy gels are extremely effectively at replenishing your stores of glycogen, keeping your energy levels topped up when hiking.
I will admit, they don’t taste great. However, for what they lack in taste, they more than make up for in convenience and effectiveness.
Lightweight, easily portable, convenient to eat on the move and extremely quick to digest, these gels reign supreme when it comes to keeping you moving without weighing you down.
The energy gels I was given were the SiS (Science in Sport) Isometric Energy Gels. Delivering 22 g of carbohydrate per gel, simply peel off the lid, squeeze it down the hatchet and feel your body start coming back to life!
Jelly babies
If energy gels are too hard to stomach, then Jelly Babies may be a better and more palatable choice for you.
Often used by fell runners, you’d be surprised how quickly these colourful kids’ treats perk you up when you’re starting to feel depleted.
Obviously, it goes without saying that these grinning gummies are by no means nutritionally balanced, and eating too many is likely to cause stomach cramps and a dreadful sugar crash after the initial buzz.
But if you’re tackling a particularly arduous hike, then munching on a small handful here and there when you start flagging can really give that hit of energy you so desperately need.
Jelly Babies became almost like a drug during our National 3 Peaks Challenge, dishing them out whenever one of our party members started falling behind.
Trail mix
Last but certainly not least, with a name like ‘trail mix’ you instantly know this is a hiker-friendly snack.
Extremely nutritious and easy to carry around, trail mix typically consists of a simple combination of granola, dried fruit and nuts.
Perfectly combining to create a balanced dose of carbs, protein and healthy fats, grazing on handfuls of trail mix throughout the day can effectively help maintain energy levels throughout your adventure.
While you can conveniently purchase pre-made trail mix bags online or on the shelves, the better option in my opinion is to create your own customised bag.
Simply head to your local grocer and take your pick; the options are almost endless! Some of my personal favourite additions include: dried cranberries, hazelnuts, desiccated coconut and pumpkin seeds to just name a few.
BONUS SNACK – Coconut Water
Ok, I know coconut water is technically a drink and not a snack, but I just had to include it in this post.
Packed with nutrients and electrolytes to keep you hydrated along your walk, coconut water is a more natural, lower calorie and caffeine-free alternative to the typical energy drinks found in the shops.
Did you know – one cup of coconut water has around 600mg of potassium? That’s more than a whole banana!
While drinking too much of this refreshing beverage is likely to cause an upset stomach (trust me, I’ve been there), drinking coconut water in moderation can prove to be a real pick-me-up when taking on those tougher hikes.
For instance, during my attempt at the Yorkshire 3 Peaks Challenge, having a swig of coconut water when we took a breather at the top of each peak really helped give me that little extra umph for the next segment of the trail.
How often should I snack while hiking?
As a general overview, I’d say snacking on smaller amounts of food every 1-2 hours tends to be the optimal hiking approach.
Big meals have a habit of making me lethargic, sending my digestive system into overdrive, so frequently snacking on smaller amounts while on the move keeps me consistently topped up with calories without weighing me down.
More resources
Well there you have it. Get your backpack filled with some of these snack choices and you’ll be ready to dominate whatever trail you next have in your sights.
While you’re here, if you’re looking for some outdoor adventure inspiration, then be sure to peruse through the countless blog posts available on The Walking Northerners.
I’m certain there’s something that’ll spark your interest!
Happy walking 🚶🚶
