How to use the KML to GPX converter
- Start with the file from Google Earth or My Maps. Put the .kml or .kmz in the box above, by dropping it or by browsing.
- Your browser turns each placemark into its GPX 1.1 counterpart on the spot.
- Save the .gpx file it produces and load it onto your device or into your app.
Nothing is uploaded. The conversion is done by JavaScript on your own device.
What is a KML file?
KML is the file format of Google Earth and Google My Maps. It is XML text describing placemarks: points, paths and polygons, with names, descriptions and instructions for how they should look. A KMZ file is the same thing zipped.
KML is good for showing places on a globe. Many handheld GPS units, bike computers and sports apps do not read it, though. They expect GPX, a plainer format built for exchanging waypoints, routes and tracks between devices. That gap is the reason to convert.
What is carried over when you convert KML to GPX?
The positions, names, descriptions and elevations are carried over; anything about appearance or organisation is not.
| In the KML | In the GPX |
|---|---|
| Point placemark | Waypoint |
| Path (line) | Track |
| Polygon | Track that follows the outline |
| Name, description, elevation | Kept |
| Styles, icons, folders, overlays | Not carried over |
Two things are worth knowing before you load the result:
- Folders are flattened. If the KML sorted placemarks into folders, the GPX holds them as one list.
- A path drawn by hand in Google Earth has no timestamps, so the track has none. A device will draw it but cannot report a speed or duration for it.
To check the file before converting, open it in the KML viewer.
How do I get a Google Earth path onto a Garmin?
Save the path from Google Earth as KML or KMZ, convert it here, then copy the GPX to the device.
Getting the file out of Google Earth
In Google Earth Pro, right-click the path or folder in the Places panel and choose “Save Place As”. Google My Maps has an export to KML/KMZ option in the map’s menu. If the export dialog offers to keep the data up to date with a network link, leave that off; otherwise the file holds only a link, with no coordinates to convert.
Loading the GPX onto a GPS device
Most Garmin outdoor and cycling devices appear as a drive when connected to a computer by USB.
- Connect the device and open its storage.
- Copy the .gpx file into the folder the device reads new files from. On many handhelds that is the GPX folder inside the Garmin folder; on many Edge bike computers it is NewFiles. The manual for your model has the exact name.
- Eject the device and restart it. The track and waypoints show up in its saved data.
Garmin’s own desktop and web software can also import GPX files and send them to a device. Units from other makers work in a similar way, by file copy or through the maker’s app.