How to convert KML to GPX
- Drop the KML file you saved from Google Earth.
- Check the preview; placemarks convert to waypoints, paths to tracks, and polygons to tracks along their outlines.
- Choose GPX and convert, then load the file onto your device or app.
What changes when you convert KML to GPX
| What | KML → GPX | |
|---|---|---|
| Geometry | Changes | Points and lines transfer directly. GPX has no polygon type, so polygons are converted to their boundary as line tracks rather than being dropped. |
| Attributes | Changes | GPX has a fixed schema, so only its native fields (name, description, elevation, time) are filled. Extra columns are not written. |
| Styling & labels | Dropped | KML colors, icons and description balloons are presentation, not data. GPX stores the underlying features, so styling is dropped (the geometry and attributes remain). |
| Coordinate system | Kept | Both formats are fixed to WGS84 longitude/latitude (EPSG:4326), so the coordinates are copied across without any reprojection. |
| Elevation (Z) | Kept | 3D Z values carry from KML into GPX wherever the source records them. |
| File structure | Kept | A single, self-contained .gpx file you can move around on its own. |
Why convert KML to GPX?
Routes get drawn in Google Earth because tracing over satellite imagery is the easiest planning there is, but the result is KML, a format no Garmin or sports watch reads. GPX is the exchange language of GPS hardware and of apps like Strava and Komoot, and the mapping between the two is clean: a placemark becomes a waypoint, a path becomes a track, and the placemark name becomes the label shown on the device. Both formats store WGS84, so the coordinates are copied as they are, and altitude is kept wherever the KML records it.
Coordinate system handling
Google Earth models the planet on WGS84, so every placemark and path in a KML already sits on the datum GPS hardware expects, and the GPX specification pins its own coordinates to that same datum. The rewrite from placemark to waypoint copies each longitude and latitude digit for digit, with no reprojection anywhere because none is possible or needed.
Any offset noticed after converting was present in the KML all along. Satellite imagery can sit several meters from true ground position, so a trail traced on screen sometimes runs beside the path it meant to follow, and that tracing slip, not a datum shift, is what the handheld later displays.
What to check when converting KML to GPX
Check what you drew before you leave, because GPX holds waypoints, routes and tracks only, plus a small fixed set of fields. Colors, icons and balloon styling are not carried, and a filled polygon arrives as a track along its outline rather than as an area. Confirm in the preview that the points and paths you need made it across before trusting the file on a trail.
Troubleshooting KML to GPX
- Google Earth shows a full map but the conversion finds nothing. A saved place can be a network link, a pointer that fetches content from the web each time Google Earth opens, and a pointer holds no geometry of its own. Expand the link in Google Earth, right-click the loaded folder inside it, and use Save Place As so the exported file carries the actual placemarks and paths.
- Strava refuses the converted route as an activity. A path traced in Google Earth carries no timestamps, and the activity uploader accepts recordings only. Bring the file in through Strava's route builder, or follow the route with a watch and upload that recording when training data is the goal.
- Every converted point reports an elevation of zero. Placemarks clamped to the ground are written with an altitude of 0, and the conversion carries that number into the ele field faithfully. Treat the zeros as placeholders and let the device supply height from its barometer or satellite fix once the file is in the field.
- The sidebar folder structure is gone on the device. GPX has no folder concept, so a document organized into Day 1, Day 2 and Side trips flattens into a single list of waypoints and tracks. Encode the grouping into the names, D1 Camp and D2 Spring for example, or save each folder as its own KML and convert them one at a time.
About the formats
A route often begins in Google Earth, sketched over satellite imagery and saved as KML. That file looks great on a screen, but a Garmin or a running watch will not open it. GPX is the language those devices speak, and converting turns your placemarks and paths into waypoints, routes and tracks. Once exported, the same trail loads onto a handheld unit, or into Strava and Komoot for the field.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get the file onto a Garmin?
Copy it to the unit or send it through Garmin Connect. The same file opens in Strava, Komoot and QGIS.
Why do my waypoint descriptions contain HTML tags after converting?
Google Earth balloons hold HTML, and it is kept in the description field so links and line breaks are not lost.
The file is a KMZ, so do I need to unzip it first?
No. Drop it on the KMZ to GPX converter instead; the unzip happens for you.
What happens to the polygons in my KML file?
GPX has no polygon type, so a KML polygon is written as a track that follows its outline and the fill styling is dropped. The boundary can still guide you on the ground; it is just no longer an area.
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