How many steps is 10 miles?
About 22,900 steps for an adult of average height, from about 20,100 at 6 ft 4 in to 26,400 at 4 ft 10 in. That is more than two 10,000-step days in one, and on a walking holiday it counts as a short day.
The numbers
Steps in 10 miles, by height
| 4 ft 10 in (1.47 m) | about 26,400 steps |
| 5 ft (1.52 m) | about 25,500 steps |
| 5 ft 2 in (1.57 m) | about 24,700 steps |
| 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | about 23,900 steps |
| 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | about 23,200 steps |
| 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | about 22,500 steps |
| 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | about 21,900 steps |
| 6 ft (1.83 m) | about 21,300 steps |
| 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | about 20,700 steps |
| 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | about 20,100 steps |
Step length is about 41% of height. Give or take 10% for how you walk.
For the average American woman and man (according to the CDC)
| A woman, 5 ft 3.5 in | about 24,200 steps |
| A man, 5 ft 8.9 in | about 22,200 steps |
Average heights of US adults, from the CDC. A woman's step is almost the same share of her height as a man's, so the gap comes from height.
Against a daily step count
| A 5,000-step day | 457% of it |
| A 7,000-step day | 327% of it |
| A 10,000-step day | 229% of it |
For an adult of average height, walking only this distance.
On a reTrek route
16.1 km is 1/4 of the way to Everest Base Camp. At that distance a day, the whole route takes about 4 days.
About the Everest Base Camp routeTime and calories: How long does it take to walk 10 miles?
How many steps is 10 miles?
About 22,900 for an adult 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) tall. Ten miles is 16,093 m, and a walking step is roughly 41% of your height, about 0.70 m for that adult. The average American woman (according to the CDC), at 5 ft 3.5 in, takes about 24,200, and the average American man, just under 5 ft 9 in, about 22,200. Even at 6 ft 4 in it is over 20,000.
Ten miles on a trail
On a long-distance walk, ten miles is an easy day. Most people walk Hadrian’s Wall Path, 84 miles (135 km) from coast to coast, in seven days: about 12 miles and 27,400 steps a day. Pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago cover around 25 km (16 miles) a day for a month, some 35,500 steps every day. Walkers who come home from either with a phone full of 25,000-step days are not exaggerating.
The counts here are for level ground. Climbs, descents and rough paths change the step, so a trail day can read differently from the same distance on a pavement.
Ten miles a day, counted toward somewhere
In reTrek those 22,900 steps become distance on a real trail. Pick a route, Everest Base Camp is free, and ten miles a day carries you from Lukla to Base Camp in about 4 days. Trekkers on the real path take 8 to 9, because the altitude, not the distance, sets the pace. Either way, a short film about the place waits at each milestone.
Or take someone with you: walk the same route with a friend and pool your steps, or race each other to Base Camp.
Try your own distance
Steps
about 22,900
20,600 to 25,200 depending on your stride, about 0.70 m a step at this height.
Distance
16.1 km · 10.0 miles
Time on foot
3 h 13 min
at 5 km/h, no stops
Calories
Depends on your weight more than anything else. Enter it to see an estimate.
That is 1/4 of the way to Everest Base Camp.
Other distances in steps
Sources: One-mile step count at walking and running speeds, Hoeger et al., ACSM's Health and Fitness Journal, 2008 · Body measurements, average height of US adults, CDC FastStats (NHANES August 2021 to August 2023)