How Many Calories Do You Burn While Snowboarding?

On average, a person burns between 310 – 548 calories per hour while snowboarding. The exact number of calories burned depends on the level of intensity of your snowboarding session as well as your weight and metabolism.

Here is a chart to help give you an estimate for how many calories your burn per hour.

Snowboarding Calories Burned Chart

It’s important to note that we are all different in our genetic build, and no two snowboarders are the same. This means the number of calories burned will vary slightly from person to person.

Your muscle mass, weight, metabolism, the intensity level, and weight of your snowboard gear all play a role into how many calories you will burn as you ride.

Can I Get a More Accurate Estimate of Calories That I Burned While I Snowboard?

Yes. You can use a heart rate monitor while you snowboard. A heart rate monitor is one of the best ways to measure how many calories you burn in one hour of riding. When you measure your own heart rate, you can see how much effort it takes you to ride your favorite terrain in one hour. The effort you put in while riding, determines the calories you actually burn.

I recommend using the heart rate features on on the Suunto9 Baro Sport Watch while you snowboard to get an accurate estimate of your heart rate. You can also use it to track your runs and the distance you’ve traveled.

What Can You Do to Maximize the Calories That You Burn Snowboarding? 

To maximize the calories that you burn while snowboarding, you need to keep your body moving. Any activity that keeps your body moving will help you burn more calories while you ride.  

Here are seven additional things you can do to keep your body moving and maximize the calories you burn while you snowboard. 

• Opt for longer trails instead of shorter ones.
• Focus on linking your turns instead of making disconnected occasional turns. Linking turns will keep your muscles engaged.
• Seek out steeper, challenging terrain or terrain with moguls. This forces you to use muscles to engage your edge more as you ride.
• Hike features in the park.
• Hike challenging sections of the trail.
• Opt for using a tow rope over a lift where you will be sitting or standing.
• Take that extra run while your friends use the restroom or go to their car. 

How Does the Number of Calories Burned Snowboarding Compare to Skiing?

Studies have shown that downhill skiing can burn 25 to 50 more calories (or 0.00013 kg to 0.00648 kg) per hour than downhill snowboarding.

However, it’s important to note that these are different activities that require different gear (which can vary in weight), different carving styles, and activation of different muscle groups.

While both activities are comparable in the number of calories they can burn per hour, the best way to ensure you burn the maximum amount of calories per hour (for either activity) is to limit the time you spend resting on the lift.

Steve Weber

Steve Weber is the passionate snowboarder, skateboarder, and author behind Board of the World. He understands that most gear reviews focus on having the perfect snow conditions, but his testing methodology is different. Living in Pennsylvania, Steve describes exactly how a board performs when the conditions aren’t perfect. His reviews cover performance on ice, hardpack, and flat-out brick conditions. In other words, he reviews boards for the conditions that East Coast riders actually face.

Bringing 27 years of East Coast snowboarding and 21 years of skateboarding experience, Steve is a 42-year-old intermediate park rider. His recommendations are informed by decades of battling icy conditions, ensuring every review accounts for the board’s performance on the roughest of terrain.

For the last five years, Steve has poured his passion into writing in-depth, unbiased reviews that help riders make informed decisions about the gear they’ll use. He also works part-time at a snowboard shop in Northeastern Pennsylvania, which gives him a direct line to learning about the new gear tech months in advance. When he’s not writing reviews, Steve is often found riding at Montage Mountain and testing out new boards.

Steve’s goal with Board of the World is simple: to help every reader find the right gear so they can have fun outside from the first time they use it.