Let’s talk about hiking snacks. I don’t about you, but I get burned out pretty quick on the same old protein bars over and over again. So, just wanted to share some of my go-to hiking snack ideas with you that have been getting me through my hiking trips so far this summer, and would love to hear what some of yours are too. For even more hiking snack and backpacking meal ideas, steal these 23 Easy Backpacking Meals And Snacks!
Hiking snacks for energy
Jerky – My husband and I make our own beef jerky in our dehydrator every couple weeks, since I can’t seem find any in our stores without added sugar in it. My favorite way to make it is to soak the beef strips in Braggs liquid aminos overnight, then load them up with black pepper, and dehydrate it all – so good!
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Nut mix or trail mix – again I like to make my own here. Right now, I’m on a pecan, walnut, almond, pepita kick. I just make a small snack baggie for each day I’ll be out of the house. You can go as elaborate or as simple as you like here, the key is to mix ingredients you really like and won’t get sick of. I like to peruse our grocery stores bulk food section for ideas of what to mix together. I don’t like the premixed trail mix from the store, because there’s always that one least favorite ingredient that I pick around and eat everything else – so may as well just make my own with ingredients I know I love.
String cheese – or those little individually wrapped cheese chunks. Those, and most blocks of hard cheese, will last quite a while out of refrigeration on the trail. (At least a few days.) So, they make a great snack for a day hike or weekend long camping trip.
Summer sausage – like the cheese, keeps well out of refrigeration for a while. I always put the unopened summer sausage in a Ziploc baggie before leaving home, figuring I won’t eat it all in one sitting. That makes it super easy to store for later.
Bacon – Cook up a pack, well done, in the oven at home and then take some with you on your day hikes or backpacking trips.
Hard Boiled Eggs – If you’re just out for the day, you can shell them at home to make trail snacking a little easier. But if you’re out for a backpacking trip I’d leave the shells so they stay fresh longer.
To go olives – this was a recent grocery store discovery and they caught my eye because they are totally sealed, shelf stable, and they aren’t packed in liquid! Which means they are a pretty light snack for the fat and calories they pack in there. They come in four packs of what look like little disposable apple sauce containers. These are also extra tasty with a little pack of individual sized cream cheese, which also lasts quite a while out of refrigeration on the trail.
To go pickles – similar to the olives, but these are packed in liquid, so not quite as light, but still delicious, and packed out in individual serving sizes. Pickles, and the pickle juice are a great snack while hiking to help replace some of the sodium you sweat out.
Nut butter packets – I love the Justin’s nut butter packets! They’re individually wrapped, great on their own, or you can add them onto chocolate, wraps or bagels, or fruits and veggies.
Dried fruit or veggies – If you have a dehydrator you can dry your own, or most grocery stores carry at least some things like carrot chips, beet chips, zucchini chips, dried snap peas, banana chips or other dried fruits. Or if you like to plan ahead, you can get an awesome variety pack of dehydrated vegetables from Amazon.
I know these snacks may be slightly biased toward my keto lifestyle, but you guys, I’ve been eating keto for almost a year now and it has supercharged my hiking! The healthy fats keep me full longer and help push me up hard climbs. Plus, I don’t have any of the sugar crashes and cravings I used to before I made the switch.
Overall I eat way less and don’t have to stop to snack every hour like clockwork like I did when I was relying on Snickers and Cliff bars. As a side note – dried fruit is not keto friendly, but still a great hiking snack for most people out there 🙂
Before you go, be sure to grab my complete list of backpacking snack and meal ideas.
Let us know your favorite hiking snack that holds up well on the trail in the comments below!
Tuna packets are great for protien pack easy last indefinitely, and come in a variety of flavors. Rice cakes are light and pack well. Mapo is great for overnights, just add a little hot water and its comfort food that sustains. I have also found olives in the foil packs similar to what tuna comes in for single servings that pack great. Trader Joe’s has some great dried fruit and nut options, my favorite is omega mix, which you can also find in a bag of single packs, and can find in bulk at BJ’s or Costco. I like crunch so Grape Nuts in a snack bags is nice. Precooked rice with some jerky is yummy.
We also bring candy leftovers from the last holiday. It gives kids a boost of energy and then they can think about eating something for more lasting energy.
Oooo way to get creative with the hiking snacks! I like it.
Thank you for sharing this hiking snacks!! Me and my friends are planning to have a backpacking trip this weekend!! I need not to starve, I can bring these snacks with me.