How to get a GPX file into Google My Maps (and back)

1. Import a GPX file into My Maps

1. Go to Google My Maps and click Create a new map (or open an existing one).
2. In the panel on the left, under a layer, click Import. Use Add layer first if you want the route on its own layer.
3. Choose your .gpx file. The track appears as a line, and any waypoints as pins.

Google's import help sets a few limits. GPX and other files can be up to 40 MB, but KML and KMZ only 5 MB once unzipped. Don't import more than 2,000 rows (features) into a layer.

My Maps shows the route's line and pins. Elevation and timestamps from your GPS don't show up anywhere, so keep your original file if you need them.

2. Got TCX, GeoJSON or something else?

My Maps imports CSV, TSV, KML, KMZ, GPX and spreadsheets. A TCX file from a Garmin, or GeoJSON from a mapping tool, needs converting first. KML is the safest choice, because it's what My Maps uses itself.

Google also warns that some KML features may not import, including folders and MultiGeometries (several lines in one placemark). The KML this converter writes avoids both: each track segment is its own line.

3. Get your route back out as GPX

Drew a route in My Maps and want it on your bike computer or in a phone app? My Maps only downloads KML or KMZ, so it's two steps.

1. In your map, click the ⋮ menu next to the map's name, then Download KML.
2. Choose the entire map, or just the layer with your route.
3. Leave “Keep data up to date with network link KML” unticked. With it ticked, the file only links to your map online and has no route inside, so nothing else can read it.
4. Click Download. You'll get a .kmz file, or a .kml if you ticked “Export as KML instead of KMZ”. Either is fine.
5. Open it in the KMZ to GPX converter, check the route on the map, and download the GPX.

Each line in your map becomes a GPX track and each pin a waypoint, with their names and descriptions. Colours and icons are dropped, since GPX has no styles. A line you drew by hand has no elevation or times. Many apps fill in elevation themselves from their own map data.

Common problems

“This file only links to a map online”

The network link box was ticked when you downloaded. Download again with it unticked.

The import into My Maps fails

Check the limits above: 5 MB for KML and KMZ, 40 MB for GPX, and 2,000 features per layer. If you're over, split the file or import it into several layers.

Some lines or folders are missing after import

The KML probably uses folders or MultiGeometries, which My Maps may skip. Run it through the converter (KML to KML works) to get a flat file with one line per segment, then import that.