Uploading a GPX file
How to upload a GPX file, overlay the route on the map, and use the route for distance calculations and waypoint placement.
Uploading a GPX file overlays your planned route on the interactive map inside the Trip Planner. The route appears immediately after upload and is saved with the trip.
GPX mode is enabled by default. If you do not see the Route file section when you open the Trail chip, check that GPX mode is turned on in Preferences (⚙ in the dashboard header).
Supported files
Trailkeep accepts any standard .gpx file up to 10 MB. Export GPX from:
- Gaia GPS — tap the route → Export → GPX
- Komoot — click the tour → Download → GPX Track
- AllTrails — requires AllTrails+ subscription to export
- Garmin devices — connect via USB; files are in the
GPXfolder on the device - Strava — available from the route detail page
The file must end in .gpx. Files with spaces, brackets, or numbers in the name (common on Android, e.g. my route (1).gpx) upload correctly — Trailkeep identifies files by extension, not MIME type.
Trailkeep handles both major GPX structures automatically:
<trk>tracks — recorded journeys (Strava, Garmin, OsmAnd). These are parsed first and take priority.<rte>routes — planned routes (Hiiker, Komoot, AllTrails). Used as a fallback if no track data is present.
If the file contains multiple route segments (common with long-distance trail GPX files from walking clubs, or Garmin devices that create a new segment on pause/resume), all segments are merged into a single continuous route on upload. A warning appears in the dialog if this is detected. For best results, use a single-route file.
Uploading
Click the Trail chip in the trip header (next to the calendar), then Upload GPX in the Route file section. A dialog opens — drag your file onto the drop zone, or click Browse to select it from your device.
You can add up to three GPX files in one upload. List them in the order you walk them — drag to reorder in the dialog before you upload. Files are stitched in that hike order into a single route. On the map, each file appears as its own route line — nothing is drawn across the gap between files.
Large gap between files? Use off-route draw when placing the next stop on the map — see Waypoints.
Only the trip owner can upload or clear a GPX route. Collaborators can place waypoints on a route the owner uploaded — see Collaborative editing.
After upload, the Trail panel stays open with a route preview at the top, your filename, and distance below. Click the route preview to open the full interactive map and confirm the track looks correct.
Once uploaded, the route renders on the map as a coloured line. The waypoint connector (the line between your planned waypoints) is drawn in a separate colour so you can distinguish it from the GPX track.
After each file is added, the dialog shows whether elevation data was found:
- "Elevation data found" — the file has
<ele>tags. - "No elevation data" — the file has no
<ele>tags.
Multi-file uploads: GPX elevation is used only when every file includes elevation data. If any file shows "No elevation data", the whole upload runs without GPX elevation — charts, moving time, and calories use route estimates instead. You can still upload; replace files without elevation or fix them in a GPX editor if you need elevation for the full trip.
When elevation is used, it appears in the Distance HUD while placing waypoints, day stats, and GPX export.
Android users: Some file managers and cloud storage apps on Android return inconsistent file type information. If you select a GPX file and nothing happens, check that the filename ends in .gpx. If it does and it still fails, download the file to local device storage first, then upload from there.
Replacing a route
To remove the current GPX file and upload a replacement, open the Trail chip, click Manage in the Route file section, then Clear in the upload dialog. If you have stops placed on the map, you will be asked whether to keep their coordinates or reset them — keeping is useful if the new file covers the same area, resetting is useful if the route has changed significantly. Leg distances may be wrong until you check them on the map after replacing the route.
Clearing only removes the GPX track — your waypoints, itinerary, and trip data are unaffected unless you choose to reset positions.
Route simplification
Routes with many trackpoints are automatically simplified before storage to keep map rendering fast. This removes redundant intermediate points while preserving the shape of the route. There is no visible difference to the displayed route, and distance calculations remain accurate.
Loop routes
Loop trails are fully supported. When you place waypoints on a loop, Trailkeep routes each leg along the shortest path on the GPX. The chosen direction is saved per waypoint and preserved in export.
If the wrong arc is chosen on a symmetric loop, re-open the stop and click a point on the intended side of the trail — see Loop routes in Waypoints.
GPX export
After planning your trip, export the full route as a device-ready GPX file. See Exporting a GPX file for what is included and Garmin compatibility details.
File size limit
Files over 10 MB are rejected at upload. If your file exceeds this, simplify it first using a tool like GPS Visualizer or re-export from your GPS app at a lower resolution.