What Is Elevation Gain? Meaning, Math and Trail Examples

Elevation gain is the total height you climb over a whole hike, adding up every uphill section. It is not the height of the summit, and it is not the altitude of the trailhead.

Distance alone does not tell you how hard a trail is: 5 km on flat ground and 5 km with 800 m of climbing are very different days. This page explains the term, separates it from elevation, and shows what different amounts of gain look like on three Québec trails listed on LGPO.

Elevation and elevation gain: two different things

• Elevation (often called altitude in hiking) is the height of one point above a reference level, usually mean sea level. A trailhead at 1,000 m and a summit at 1,800 m each have their own elevation.
• Elevation gain is how much you climb between points along the route. It is a quantity of effort, not a place on the map.

Wikipedia defines elevation as a point's height above or below a fixed reference point.

Net gain versus total (cumulative) gain

The difference between the start and the highest point is the net gain. If a trail starts at 1,000 m and the summit is at 1,800 m, the net gain is 800 m. Descending back to the start is a negative gain of 800 m.

Trails rarely climb in one straight line, though. They climb, dip and climb again, and every dip has to be climbed back. The total or cumulative gain adds up all the climbs and ignores the descents. Most guides and apps report the cumulative figure, but check which one a page shows: some sources list the summit altitude or the net gain instead.

Example: a route runs from point A at 0 m to a summit at point F at 1,000 m, with dips on the way. If it climbs three times by 500 m (A to B, C to D, E to F), the net gain is 1,000 m but the total climbing is 1,500 m.

• A to B: +500 m
• C to D: +500 m
• E to F: +500 m
• Net gain: 1,000 m. Total climbing: 1,500 m.

What elevation gain looks like on three Québec trails

The table lists three Québec trails from the LGPO trail pages, ordered by elevation gain. Figures are those shown on each trail page, and they are not guaranteed: other sources can give different totals for the same trail. Read the gain next to the distance, because a short trail can be as steep as a long one.

Trail (region)	Distance	Elevation gain	Naismith's rule estimate*
Mont St Hilaire (Montérégie), Dieppe trail	3.7 km	220 m	about 1 h 05
Montagne Blanche (Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean)	12.4 km	589 m	about 3 h 30
Mont Albert (Gaspésie)	12.6 km	850 m	about 4 h

*Walking time before breaks, calculated by LGPO with Naismith's rule from the distance and gain above (see next section). It is an estimate, not the duration shown on the trail page. Real times are often longer than the rule suggests, so treat it as a minimum, not a forecast.

Turning gain into walking time: Naismith's rule

A classic method, devised by Scottish mountaineer William Naismith and published in the Scottish Mountaineering Club Journal in 1892 (vol. 2, no. 3, as summarized by Wikipedia), is to allow 1 hour for every 5 km forward, plus 1 hour for every 600 m of climbing.

Worked example with the Dieppe trail at Mont St Hilaire: 3.7 km and 220 m of climbing. Distance: 3.7 / 5 = 0.74 h. Climbing: 220 / 600 = 0.37 h. Total: about 1.1 h, or roughly 1 h 05 before breaks.

LGPO's rule of thumb for beginners is to multiply the result by 1.3 to 1.5 and to add time for breaks. For this Dieppe example, that gives roughly 1 h 25 to 1 h 40 of walking before breaks. This margin is an LGPO rule of thumb, not part of Naismith's rule.

What different amounts of gain feel like

These ranges are LGPO rules of thumb, not an official scale, and they depend on distance, terrain and fitness:

• 0 to 200 m: an easy stroll, good for beginners.
• 200 to 500 m: you will feel your thighs, but it is manageable.
• 500 to 800 m: getting serious, expect to sweat.
• 800 m and more: experienced hikers' territory.

How to find or measure elevation gain

The simplest way is to read the trail page or guide, which usually gives a gain figure next to the distance. Compare at least two sources, and check whether the figure is the cumulative gain or the summit altitude: totals can differ noticeably for the same trail.

On a topographic map, contour lines are, in the USGS's words, imaginary lines connecting points having the same elevation. Where they are closely spaced, the slope is steep. Contour intervals vary from map to map, so check the legend before counting climbs (LGPO advice, not a USGS statement).