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 GPX upload button in the trip toolbar, 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
Inside a trip, click the GPX button in the trip toolbar. A dialog opens. Either drag your file onto the drop zone, or click Browse to select it from your device.
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 the file is processed, the dialog shows whether elevation data was found:
- "Elevation data found" — the file has
<ele>tags; elevation will be shown in the Distance HUD while placing waypoints and preserved in the export. - "No elevation data in this file" — elevation won't be available in the Distance HUD or 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 GPX dialog and click Clear. If you have waypoints 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.
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 automatically picks the shortest path between each pair of stops. On perfectly symmetric placements (e.g. a waypoint exactly halfway around a 30 km loop), use the Reverse button inside the map dialog to flip the routing direction. See Placing a waypoint on the map for details.
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.