Convert GPX to KML

GPX to KML: why convert

A GPX file is what you get when you export a hike, ride or run from a Garmin device, Strava, Komoot or a phone app. Google Earth and Google My Maps prefer KML, and Google Earth is a good place to look at a trip on 3D terrain or to share it with people who have no GPS software. This converter turns the waypoints, routes and tracks of a GPX file into one KML file with a folder for each, keeps the names and descriptions as placemark labels and balloon text, and keeps the elevation of every point as altitude. Fields the GPX does not use are left out, so the placemark data stays short. The file is read and converted in your browser with GDAL, the open-source library behind QGIS; your track, which shows where you live and when you are out, is never uploaded.

How to convert GPX to KML

1. Drop your .gpx file in the box, or click to choose it.
2. Check the track on the map, and tick the box if you also want every track point with its time.
3. Click Convert to KML and open the file in Google Earth or import it into My Maps.

What changes when you convert

Waypoints, routes and tracks become folders

GPX keeps three kinds of data apart. Waypoints are single places such as a summit or a parking spot, a route is a planned line through a few points, and a track is the path you actually recorded. Each kind that the file contains becomes its own KML folder, named waypoints, routes and tracks, so you can switch them on and off in Google Earth. A track that was paused and resumed has several segments; it stays one placemark with several lines.

Elevation is kept, the line still follows the ground

The ele value of each point becomes the altitude in the KML coordinates. The KML does not set an altitude mode, so Google Earth draws the track on the terrain, which is usually what you want for a hike. To see the recorded heights instead, open the placemark properties in Google Earth Pro and set the altitude to absolute. Points without an elevation stay two-dimensional.

Times stay with the track points

In a GPX track every point can carry a time stamp, but a KML line cannot. The track line therefore has no times. Tick "Also include every track point" to get an extra folder with one placemark per point, each with its time (in ISO form, such as 2024-05-01T08:07:30Z) and elevation as data. The times are stored as data fields, not as KML time stamps, so Google Earth's time slider does not animate them.

Heart rate, cadence and power are not carried over

Garmin watches and bike computers add heart rate, cadence, temperature and power as extensions to each track point. These device-specific extensions are not read, so the KML holds position, elevation and time only.

Names and descriptions

The GPX name becomes the placemark name that Google Earth shows on the map, and the GPX description becomes the balloon text. Other values that are present, such as the waypoint symbol, comment or type, are kept as placemark data. You can pick a different field for the names before converting.