How to add gpx maps to Garmin watches via Connect (Road to Tevis #65)

It’s not easy to add gpx maps to Garmin watches (I have this Fenix 5s) that use the Connect app. I discovered this at my first xpride, last February at Laurel Mt. (See my post about that ride–our first!) Dr. Nicholson provides gpx files for the xprides. Because my first three rides in California were xprides, I got used to it, and really appreciate having the courses loaded in my watch and phone. Unfortunately, at my last xp rides, Sesenta Años, Dave didn’t send out the gpx files before the ride. My data connection was so poor at ride camp, I couldn’t move the files around.

Yes, adding gpx maps to your Garmin via Connect requires a lot of moving files. Because it’s complicated, I’ve been meaning write a how-to blog post since last February. Better late than never!

How to add gpx maps to Garmin watches via Gaia (added March 2023)

This was not possible when I wrote this post, but–thankfully-it is now. You can do it all on your phone. At least, you can with an iPhone, and I presume Android would be similar. To use this method, you must be a member of Gaia and have the app installed. You must also have the Garmin Connect app installed.

1. Open the email from Dave.
2. Click on (touch) the gpx file. It will open as text (see below to understand the file).
3. Click on the share icon at the bottom (see image on left/top below). Find your Gaia app (you might have to select “More” and scroll down and select it.
4. Open your gaia app. Select the “Saved” items menu (see middle image below).
5. The file you uploaded will be a “Folder” because it has lots of waypoints and tracks in it. If you cannot find it, make sure you have folders visible (click on the three lines to the left at the top; see right/last image below).
6. Select the folder. It will open to all the way points and tracks. You cannot add the entire folder to Connect, so you will have to share each track individually.
7. Select a track you will be riding. Then select share. Scroll down to “Export files” and select it. Then select gpx. Choose Connect from your app options.
8. Connect will open up, and you can follow the instructions below to import the course into the app.

Step 1: Download the gpx file

Dave will email you a gpx file (hopefully before you leave for the ride). He might send two: one with the tracks and another with waypoints. Download the file or files to your computer. I put them in a folder on my desktop, but it doesn’t matter where they are as long as you know how to find them.

Opening gpx files

To open the gpx file, doubleclick and it will open in Notepad–on a PC. It will probably also open on a Mac in something similar. If it doesn’t, right click and select Oen with–> Notepad. If you don’t have Notepad, you can use anything that opens text files and allows you to edit them.

Step 2: Understand the gpx file

gpx is the file extension for GPS Exchange Format files. Basically, it’s a text file with the .gpx extension. This is convenient, because you can edit the file in any text program, such as Word or Notepad. All you need to do to convert a text file to a gpx file is change the extension. (For example, if you have a file called map.txt or map.doc, simply change it to map.gpx.)

A gpx file contains lots of location data in two broad categories: waypoints and tracks. gpx files are XML (extensible markup language) documents with specific predefined XML schema. All this means is that there are rules about how you specify information. You don’t need to know that much about it to split gpx files into courses and get them on your phone! You do need to know how the information about tracks and waypoints is organized.

Waypoints

Waypoints are just exact gps locations. In a gpx file, their tag is <wpt>. Tags tell a program where a specific type of data begins and ends. The beginning is signified with the tag name, and the end is signified with a /. Each waypoints starts with <wpt and it’s gps location, closed with >. (All code that begins with a bracket must end with one.) After the coordinates, a waypoint may contain a lot of other information, such as name, icon, color, etc. It will end with </wpt>

I have not figured out how to get waypoints into my Garmin connect maps, so I just upload them into my Gaia maps via the Gaia website.

Above: Waypoints on a Gaia map of my home trails. As you can see, waypoint icons can be different icons and colors. I use Gaia to mark the location of gates that I can use, waterholes, and other important features.

Tracks

Tracks are simply a series of gps locations. All tracks begin with <trk> and end with </trk>. Inside these brackets you will find the name (e.g., <name> Cuyama Day One Loop 1 21 </name>), as well as information about its color, etc. It will consist of a series of track segments (<trkseg>) that in turn are a series of track points (<trkpt>).

You don’t really need to worry about the specifics. All you need to be able to do is find the beginning and end of each track you are going to ride. So you might need Day 1, Loop 1 and Day 1 Loop 2. Or Day 2, Loop 1. Dave labels them all in this or a similar fashion.

(Here is a more detailed explanation about understanding gpx files from Hikingguy, with examples of code.)

Step 3: Split the gpx file into separate tracks

Open the gpx file. Ignore the metadata and other info at the beginning. Find the track(s) that you want to ride. For example, if you are riding Loop 1 on Day one, scroll down until you find “Day One” or perhaps “Day 1.” You can search “day” (Ctrl-F) and find any of the loops. You will want to save that track in a separate file.

1. Delete everything between the metadata closing tag () and the beginning of the track ( followed by the name of the day and loop you want).
   • Don’t delete the metadata or anything before it.
2. Delete everything after the closing tag of the day and loop you want () up to the closing gpx tag (. The easiest way to find the closing is to just search “day” again. That will take you to the next loop. You can also just scroll down, but that’s a lot of scrolling.
   • Do not delete the gpx closing tag (</gpx>)
3. Save the file with a new name that tells you what it is, such as Day one, Loop 1.
4. Repeat for every track (loop) you plan to ride.

Step 4: Import the gpx files for your planned courses into Connect

This is where it gets annoying. In theory, you should be able to upload the gpx files to your Connect account with your browser. In practice, I have never been able to make that happen. I always get the error you see in the image below.

You should also be able to import a gpx file into your phone app, but that doesn’t work either. What you can do is open a gpx file from your phone with Connect.

1. Get the gpx file(s) onto your phone.
   • With an Android, you can just drag the files from your computer to your phone.
   • With an iPhone, you’ve got to get the files onto your phone some other way. I send them to myself as email attachments.
2. Open the gpx files with Connect. This will allow you to save them as Courses. You will need to click on the file and open it with Connect.
   • Android: Just go to where you stored the file and select it. You should be given the option to choose an app to open it. Select Connect.
     • I haven’t done this since I bought an iPhone last May, but I doubt it’s changed. If it has, please let me know.
   • iPhone: Open your email with the files on your phone and click on a file. The file will open with a share icon at the top right. Click on the share icon, then on your Connect app.
     • The Connect app icon may be on the bottom of your screen if you use it frequently. If not, you will find three dots (“more”) to the far right of the available apps. Click on them and then select Connect.
3. Save the course in Connect. Connect will open a “course set-up” screen. Just select the category you want the course in. (“Other” probably). You can then edit the title if necessary. I didn’t have to with an Android, but I do with iPhone.

Above: Left, the opened email with the gpx attachment. Click on it, then click on the share icon (box with upward arrow on iPhone). This will bring up your recent apps (bottom half of screen in the middle and right images above). If Connect is not in view, click on the three dots to the right, where is says “More.”

Step 5: Send the courses to your watch

This part is easy. Just select the course in your Connect app (three dots –> Training –> Courses). Then click on “Send to Device.”

Above: Left: all of my courses on my Connect app (before I added the example). Middle: the course from the gpx file opened in the Connect app. Touching the three dots at the top right brings up the screen on the right. Select “Send to Device.”

Bonus Step 6: Opening the course so you can follow it with your watch

Now that you’ve got the courses on your watch, you will want to open them and follow the course. That’s the whole idea. Your watch will then guide you by means of arrows along the track and directions. If you’re like me, however, it might be challenging to figure out how to do this!

1. Use the top right button to select your activity (e.g., Horseback riding!)
2. Choose “options” by clicking on the middle left button.
3. Scroll down (with bottom left button) to “Courses.”
4. Select the course with the top right button.
5. Select “Do course” with the top right button.
6. Don’t forget to start your track with that top right button when the ride starts!

Above: Left, the Options screen. By default Courses is selected. If you press the top right button, your courses will appear, as in the middle image above. (Chalk Bluff was at last year’s Wild West ride.) Scroll down with your bottom left button to find the course you want to ride. Select it with your top right button. The screen in the image on the right will appear. Select “Do course.”

How to navigate the course with your Garmin…

This is a subject for another blog post! But basically, the watch not only shows you the track with an arrow that indicates your direction, but it also warns you of upcoming changes in direction. It also vibrates when you go off course.

It’s really very useful, especially when combined with Gaia on your phone. I record all new trails in Gaia too. Good thing I did at Sesenta Años, because on the second day, Fantazia and I finished after dark. There were no glow bars. Fortunately, we were returning on a path we’d used the day before, so I could open Gaia and follow it back to camp.