Ridgefold Difficulty Index — Backpacking Trails Ranked 0

Name: The Ridgefold Difficulty Index
Creator: Ridgefold
License: https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/

Index	Trail	Tier	Distance	Gain	Steepness
100	Peaks of the Balkans	Extreme	123.4 mi	54,508 ft	442 ft/mi
99	Benton MacKaye Trail	Extreme	273 mi	67,858 ft	249 ft/mi
99	Long Trail	Extreme	247.2 mi	62,149 ft	251 ft/mi
96	Annapurna Circuit	Extreme	145 mi	50,000 ft	345 ft/mi
93	Walker's Haute Route	Extreme	128.5 mi	47,158 ft	367 ft/mi
89	Tour des Écrins	Extreme	134.5 mi	44,783 ft	333 ft/mi
88	GR20	Extreme	123 mi	43,881 ft	357 ft/mi
86	Alta Via 2	Extreme	98.9 mi	41,270 ft	417 ft/mi
83	John Muir Trail	Extreme	207 mi	38,186 ft	184 ft/mi
75	Ozark Highlands Trail	Very hard	197.8 mi	30,951 ft	156 ft/mi
73	Ouachita National Recreation Trail	Very hard	213 mi	29,902 ft	140 ft/mi
73	Tour du Mont Blanc	Very hard	102.7 mi	33,736 ft	328 ft/mi
71	Tahoe Rim Trail	Very hard	165.8 mi	30,860 ft	186 ft/mi
70	Cohos Trail	Very hard	163.2 mi	30,016 ft	184 ft/mi
70	Tour de Monte Rosa	Very hard	102 mi	32,000 ft	314 ft/mi
69	Kungsleden	Very hard	294.9 mi	29,373 ft	100 ft/mi
66	Alta Via 1	Very hard	72.9 mi	27,388 ft	376 ft/mi
66	Superior Hiking Trail	Very hard	275.1 mi	25,748 ft	94 ft/mi
65	East Coast Trail	Very hard	157 mi	26,772 ft	170 ft/mi
64	Tour du Queyras	Very hard	68.9 mi	25,879 ft	376 ft/mi
64	Alpine Passes Trail	Very hard	86.6 mi	27,676 ft	319 ft/mi
63	Wonderland Trail	Very hard	85.4 mi	26,995 ft	316 ft/mi
62	Sunshine Coast Trail	Very hard	110.7 mi	26,709 ft	241 ft/mi
59	Bartram Trail	Hard	101.7 mi	25,108 ft	247 ft/mi
59	Salkantay Trek	Hard	46.3 mi	20,115 ft	434 ft/mi
57	Everest Base Camp Trek	Hard	33.2 mi	16,106 ft	485 ft/mi
57	Mount Kilimanjaro	Hard	24.8 mi	17,149 ft	691 ft/mi
56	Appalachian Trail - Georgia Section	Hard	83.4 mi	22,749 ft	273 ft/mi
56	Berliner Höhenweg	Hard	52 mi	20,000 ft	385 ft/mi
56	Stubai High Trail	Hard	51.8 mi	19,856 ft	383 ft/mi
54	Pembrokeshire Coast Path	Hard	151.2 mi	19,383 ft	128 ft/mi
53	PCT Washington Section J	Hard	72.1 mi	20,656 ft	286 ft/mi
53	Tour des Combins	Hard	61.4 mi	19,872 ft	324 ft/mi
52	Foothills Trail	Hard	86.6 mi	20,860 ft	241 ft/mi
51	Annapurna Base Camp Trek	Hard	14.8 mi	11,795 ft	798 ft/mi
51	Langtang Valley Trek	Hard	20.4 mi	10,384 ft	508 ft/mi
50	Choquequirao Trek	Hard	18.5 mi	9,980 ft	540 ft/mi
50	Meraner Höhenweg	Hard	56.9 mi	17,910 ft	315 ft/mi
49	Westweg	Hard	115.6 mi	18,127 ft	157 ft/mi
48	The Narrows	Hard	15 mi	8,356 ft	557 ft/mi
47	Huayhuash Circuit	Hard	60.9 mi	16,778 ft	276 ft/mi
47	Pennine Way	Hard	125.3 mi	16,404 ft	131 ft/mi
46	Boundary Trail	Hard	57.5 mi	16,299 ft	283 ft/mi
45	Kalalau Trail	Hard	10.2 mi	6,476 ft	635 ft/mi
45	The Kerry Way	Hard	116.2 mi	15,961 ft	137 ft/mi
45	Sangre de Cristo — Rainbow Trail	Hard	71.6 mi	16,509 ft	231 ft/mi
44	Uinta Highline Trail	Hard	102.5 mi	15,633 ft	153 ft/mi
43	Northville-Placid Trail	Hard	137.3 mi	13,104 ft	95 ft/mi
43	Rota Vicentina – Fishermen's Trail	Hard	130 mi	13,766 ft	106 ft/mi
43	Alta Via dei Monti Liguri — Western High Route	Hard	46.1 mi	13,939 ft	302 ft/mi
42	GR10 – Pyrenees Traverse	Hard	64.3 mi	14,672 ft	228 ft/mi
42	Lost Coast Trail	Hard	27.8 mi	10,138 ft	365 ft/mi
40	Camino Francés – Stage 1	Hard	101.8 mi	13,222 ft	130 ft/mi
40	Grafton Loop Trail	Hard	33.6 mi	10,758 ft	320 ft/mi
40	Northern Loop Trail	Hard	26.3 mi	9,344 ft	355 ft/mi
40	Timberline Trail	Hard	39.7 mi	11,873 ft	299 ft/mi
39	Devil's Path	Moderate	22 mi	8,061 ft	366 ft/mi
39	Tour des Dents du Midi	Moderate	29 mi	9,695 ft	334 ft/mi
39	West Highland Way	Moderate	101.5 mi	13,071 ft	129 ft/mi
38	Enchanted Valley	Moderate	17.3 mi	6,552 ft	379 ft/mi
38	Maroon-Snowmass Trail	Moderate	8.2 mi	3,583 ft	437 ft/mi
38	Ruby Crest National Recreation Trail	Moderate	32.6 mi	9,987 ft	306 ft/mi
38	Wicklow Way	Moderate	77.3 mi	12,776 ft	165 ft/mi
37	Coast to Coast Walk	Moderate	60.2 mi	12,175 ft	202 ft/mi
37	Malerweg	Moderate	66.4 mi	12,313 ft	185 ft/mi
37	Spider Gap - Buck Creek Loop	Moderate	31.5 mi	9,416 ft	299 ft/mi
36	Art Loeb Trail	Moderate	29.5 mi	8,924 ft	303 ft/mi
36	Besseggen Ridge	Moderate	9.1 mi	3,707 ft	409 ft/mi
36	Fundy Footpath	Moderate	23.6 mi	7,759 ft	329 ft/mi
36	Kumano Kodo Nakahechi	Moderate	22.3 mi	7,474 ft	335 ft/mi
36	Milford Track	Moderate	33.3 mi	9,439 ft	283 ft/mi
36	Rockwall Trail	Moderate	32.8 mi	9,360 ft	285 ft/mi
35	Abel Tasman Coast Track	Moderate	41.8 mi	10,039 ft	240 ft/mi
35	Coyote Gulch	Moderate	13.7 mi	5,026 ft	367 ft/mi
35	Routeburn Track	Moderate	19.6 mi	6,663 ft	340 ft/mi
34	Kepler Track	Moderate	32.1 mi	8,619 ft	269 ft/mi
33	Cape Wrath Trail	Moderate	67.3 mi	10,394 ft	154 ft/mi
33	Copper Ridge Loop	Moderate	23.2 mi	7,054 ft	304 ft/mi
33	Torres del Paine O Circuit	Moderate	57.5 mi	10,505 ft	183 ft/mi
33	Trans-Catalina Trail	Moderate	38.1 mi	9,249 ft	243 ft/mi
32	The Dingle Way	Moderate	100.8 mi	8,809 ft	87 ft/mi
32	High Sierra Trail	Moderate	72 mi	10,000 ft	139 ft/mi
32	Loowit Trail	Moderate	26.6 mi	7,205 ft	271 ft/mi
32	Otter Trail	Moderate	22.8 mi	6,542 ft	287 ft/mi
32	Teton Crest Trail	Moderate	40 mi	9,000 ft	225 ft/mi
32	Torres del Paine W Trek	Moderate	50 mi	9,800 ft	196 ft/mi
31	Heaphy Track	Moderate	45.5 mi	8,842 ft	194 ft/mi
31	Paparoa Track	Moderate	31.9 mi	7,733 ft	243 ft/mi
31	Rae Lakes Loop	Moderate	37.6 mi	8,320 ft	221 ft/mi
30	Black Forest Trail	Moderate	41.7 mi	8,271 ft	198 ft/mi
30	Chilliwack River Trail	Moderate	9.6 mi	3,281 ft	342 ft/mi
30	Huemul Circuit	Moderate	40.3 mi	8,304 ft	206 ft/mi
30	Juan de Fuca Trail	Moderate	26.9 mi	6,864 ft	255 ft/mi
30	Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail	Moderate	65.4 mi	9,012 ft	138 ft/mi
30	Snowgrass Flat	Moderate	5.6 mi	2,001 ft	357 ft/mi
30	Ten Lakes Trail	Moderate	6.1 mi	2,165 ft	355 ft/mi
28	Aravaipa Canyon	Moderate	10.6 mi	3,320 ft	313 ft/mi
28	Berg Lake Trail	Moderate	13.4 mi	3,907 ft	292 ft/mi
28	Great Ocean Walk	Moderate	59.8 mi	8,054 ft	135 ft/mi
27	Fimmvörðuháls	Moderate	15.9 mi	4,298 ft	270 ft/mi
27	Great Glen Way	Moderate	77.5 mi	6,985 ft	90 ft/mi
27	Overland Track	Moderate	48.2 mi	7,477 ft	155 ft/mi
27	Weminuche Trail	Moderate	11.8 mi	3,471 ft	294 ft/mi
26	Alice Lake - Redfish Lake Trail	Moderate	20.5 mi	4,915 ft	240 ft/mi
25	Cape to Cape Track	Moderate	77.8 mi	5,915 ft	76 ft/mi
25	Chilkoot Trail	Moderate	31.2 mi	5,725 ft	184 ft/mi
25	Escalante Route	Moderate	11.4 mi	3,104 ft	272 ft/mi
25	Hadrian's Wall Path	Moderate	87.9 mi	5,561 ft	63 ft/mi
25	Knobstone Trail	Moderate	52.4 mi	6,634 ft	126 ft/mi
25	Long Range Traverse	Moderate	35.7 mi	6,207 ft	174 ft/mi
25	Santa Cruz Trek	Moderate	28 mi	5,495 ft	196 ft/mi
24	La Cloche Silhouette Trail	Moderate	45.7 mi	6,371 ft	139 ft/mi
24	Tongariro Northern Circuit	Moderate	24.9 mi	5,098 ft	205 ft/mi
24	Isle of Wight Coastal Path	Moderate	74.4 mi	5,604 ft	75 ft/mi
24	Druidensteig	Moderate	43.9 mi	6,179 ft	141 ft/mi
23	Six Foot Track	Moderate	29 mi	5,102 ft	176 ft/mi
22	Lone Star Hiking Trail	Moderate	94.4 mi	2,920 ft	31 ft/mi
22	Skyline Trail	Moderate	28 mi	4,803 ft	172 ft/mi
20	Colorado Trail — Segment 9	Moderate	15.1 mi	2,917 ft	193 ft/mi
19	Eagle Rock Loop	Approachable	26.3 mi	3,885 ft	148 ft/mi
19	Laugavegur	Approachable	32.9 mi	4,215 ft	128 ft/mi
19	West Rim Trail	Approachable	14.6 mi	2,651 ft	182 ft/mi
18	Rakiura Track	Approachable	21.6 mi	3,258 ft	151 ft/mi
17	GR11 – Senda Pirenaica	Approachable	9.8 mi	1,827 ft	186 ft/mi
16	West Coast Trail	Approachable	28.6 mi	3,136 ft	110 ft/mi
15	Jämtland Triangle	Approachable	28.5 mi	2,949 ft	103 ft/mi
15	Kekekabic Trail	Approachable	38.5 mi	3,022 ft	78 ft/mi
14	Chicago Basin	Approachable	12.7 mi	1,696 ft	134 ft/mi
12	Buckskin Gulch	Approachable	16.2 mi	1,693 ft	105 ft/mi
12	Fish River Canyon Hiking Trail	Approachable	47.4 mi	1,591 ft	34 ft/mi
12	Larapinta Trail	Approachable	24.9 mi	1,965 ft	79 ft/mi
11	Jatbula Trail	Approachable	37.3 mi	1,594 ft	43 ft/mi
10	Highline Trail	Approachable	13.2 mi	1,188 ft	90 ft/mi
7	Kungsleden – Abisko to Abiskojaure	Approachable	8.7 mi	528 ft	61 ft/mi
4	Conundrum Hot Springs	Approachable	10.3 mi	259 ft	25 ft/mi

Scope: this ranks the 135 multi-day trails Ridgefold has mapped so far — a growing curated selection, not every trail on Earth. "Hardest" means hardest in this set, and the index is a relative score for comparison, not an official rating. Click a trail to see its full page.

The formula (no black box)

The Index blends three normalized factors, each capped at a "very hard" reference so one mega-trail doesn't flatten the scale, then weighted and rescaled to 0–100:

index = 100 × ( 0.30·distance + 0.38·gain + 0.32·steepness ) / hardest

distance = min(trail miles ÷ 200, 1) — the endurance axis
gain = min(total ft of climb ÷ 50,000, 1) — total climbing load
steepness = min(ft of gain per mile ÷ 500, 1) — how relentless the climbing is

Weighting gain and steepness slightly above distance reflects how a trip actually feels: climbing is what wears you down, and sustained climbing more so. That's why a short, savagely steep route can out-score a long, gentle one — something a distance-only or elevation-only ranking gets wrong.

The tiers

Approachable 0–19 · Moderate 20–39 · Hard 40–59 · Very hard 60–79 · Extreme 80–100.

Questions

What is the hardest backpacking trail?

On the Ridgefold Difficulty Index — a 0-100 score blending distance, total elevation gain, and sustained steepness across 135 popular trails — the hardest is Peaks of the Balkans with an index of 100 (123.4 miles, 54,508 ft of gain).

How is the Ridgefold Difficulty Index calculated?

It blends three normalized factors — distance (endurance), total elevation gain (climbing load), and gain per mile (sustained steepness) — weighted 30/38/32, then scaled to 0-100 so the hardest trail anchors near 100. Unlike opaque app ratings, the full formula is published.

Why not just rank trails by distance or elevation?

Because a long flat trail and a short brutally steep one are both "hard" in different ways. Distance alone rewards length; elevation alone ignores how spread out the climbing is. The Index blends both so a 15-mile trail with a huge daily climb can out-score a mellow 100-mile walk.

The Ridgefold Difficulty Index

The formula (no black box)

The tiers

Difficulty is per-day, not just per-trail

Questions