Uploading a Loop From Mapmyride to Garmin

Creating a Hike For Garmin GPS

Creating a hike and sending it to your Garmin GPS is piece of cake when you pay Garmin for their maps, but not every bit obvious when yous want to utilise the many gratis map options out there. The process is pretty straightforward, although non promoted by Garmin. Here's how to plan a hiking route and rails, and and so send it to your Garmin GPS and navigate with it.

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(Note, I used the Garmin Fenix as the example device. The process is the same for most Garmin devices. Cheque out your manual to see how to access tracks on your private Garmin device.)

Step ane: Create Your Hike

To start, yous'll need to plan your hike and create a runway, which is saved equally a GPX file. A GPX file is simply a text file with a list of lat/lon coordinates specifying a rails.

GaiaGPS

My tool of preference for creating a hike is Gaia GPS. They take a tool that allows y'all to specify waypoints, and so Gaia will automatically "snap" a route onto the appropriate hiking trail.

It's a free tool and very helpful. You can observe information technology hither: https://www.gaiagps.com/map/

Create a hike by specifying waypoints.

Later you lot create your waypoints, GaiaGPS will automatically snap a track to the trail.

Once you're done creating a hike, you can go to the page for that route and download information technology as a GPX file.

If y'all're on a Mac y'all might take to modify the file proper name from trackname.gpx.xml to trackname.gpx (kill the xml part). You lot might besides have to convert your file as well (run into beneath). This is an consequence with certain browsers, not you lot.

I use Gaia as an offline mapping tool on my smartphone too. I encourage you to check information technology out.

HikingGuy users get 20-40% off a premium Gaia GPS membership with this link.

GPS Visualizer

If you don't want to automatically "snap" to trails, so try GPS Visualizer. It'due south another gratis tool that let's you create hike track points on information technology'due south "depict on a map" tool. Y'all accept total control of the track and information technology's points. GPS Visualizer as well has a ton of different maps available that you can create your track with. Information technology's a powerful tool.

Click on individual rail points to manually create a hike in GPS Visualizer.

After you create your hike, download it as a GPX file.

Garmin Basecamp & Open Street Maps

You can too create a road directly in Garmin Basecamp, even if y'all didn't buy their maps. Before you showtime, you lot demand to install some free routable maps. There are more and more than options every week. GPSFileDepot is a skillful place to starting time. My favorites are the Open Street Map topographic routable and the Open Street Map routable bicycle (information technology has trails). Each source has it's ain install directions, make certain to read them advisedly.

Once your maps have been installed, you can admission them in Garmin Basecamp.

After you lot installed your gratis maps, go to the Maps drop down and selection the maps that you want. Note the very minimal costless Garmin base of operations map. Not really skilful for much.

And voila! Y'all can meet the fidelity of the free topographic maps is very detailed.

You can either draw a rails, or create a route. Drawing a rail is a manual process, while choosing the road option will snap your track to the trails. Just click on the trail and the road volition be created automatically. You might have to fool around with where y'all click and and so drag points effectually manually to get it exactly how you want it.

Here you can see my road meeting.

After you terminate, you tin send the road to your Garmin. Routes work like an automotive GPS, with alerts when you need to turn. Information technology works differently on unlike devices. I recommend converting information technology to a rail and sending that. Information technology'due south simple and it works more universally.

Other Mapping Options

If you are going on a hike from this website, I have GPX files for every hike available for download in the maps section of a hike.

Garmin actually has a course planner on Garmin Connect. Like most Garmin software, it's just not the easiest to use or figure out. It too has limited map back up. I wish Garmin's expertise in hardware would translate to software, but it often does not.

If you desire to create a cycling route, yous tin can endeavour GPSies, RouteLoops, or the popular BikeMap.net.

Step 2: Send the Hike to Your Garmin GPS

Once yous have your GPX file, yous need to transfer it to your Garmin GPS. I'm using my Fenix, simply this should work with all Garmin GPS units.

Get Garmin Basecamp

Garmin Basecamp is a route planning tool for those who own Garmin Maps. Garmin Maps are groovy, but expensive, and hard to justify with all the other free options. If you own Garmin Maps, y'all tin do all your route planning in Garmin Basecamp. If not, nosotros'll apply it (without Garmin Maps) to transfer the GPX file nosotros created earlier.

Download and install the gratis Garmin Basecamp software on your machine.

Once in Basecamp, create a new list called "transfer."

Create a new list in Garmin Basecamp where y'all will drag the GPX hike yous created.

That will create a new folder on the left side called "transfer". Simply elevate your GPX file into that folder, and information technology will be imported to Garmin Basecamp.

Your GPX hike file volition be on the left hand side. Y'all tin can have Basecamp zoom to it. Find the basic maps that Garmin provides for free.

You'll notice that (unless you own Garmin maps) there are no detailed maps. This is okay.

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UPDATE: If you lot get an fault when dragging into Garmin Basecamp, you lot need to do this actress step. Visit https://world wide web.gpsies.com/catechumen.do – upload your GPX file, and and then catechumen to file type GPX. Elevate that file into Basecamp.

You lot catechumen from GPX to GPX. It's weird but it works.

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Transfer to Your Garmin GPS

Plug your Garmin GPS into your reckoner. If you haven't setup your Garmin GPS with your machine, cheque your manual for the process. Well-nigh devices need Garmin Express, which will let your Garmin GPS sync with Garmin Basecamp.

Once yous see your device in Basecamp, right-click (or control-click on Mac) on the runway you created, and and so hit "ship to device." It's that piece of cake – your GPX is now on your Garmin GPS.

Right-clicking on the rails allows you to send it to your Garmin GPS device.

Hiking With Your GPX Road

To start, I don't recommend hiking with this GPX runway alone. When I hike, I read the hike guides, trip reports, await at a map, and print out whatsoever materials I demand. I use the Garmin GPS equally a quick and easy style to ensure that I'm on the trail and heading the right away.

How you actually admission the hike rail depends on your Garmin GPS unit. Y'all'll want to access the navigation features to follow a course or track. On my Garmin Fenix 3, I tin can do Navigation > Courses > [track proper noun] > Outset. I can also access it from my "hiking" activity page. The important matter is that you'll desire to be able to see the runway on screen.

When you look at the map screen, navigation is easy. Just stay on or close to the line representing the hike that you lot created. Some units (like the Fenix 3) have an alarm that tells you if you're off course. Information technology'due south dead simple and it works.

Checking my position against the GPX hike I created earlier on my Fenix 3. Notice how the line shows I went off trail for a bit, then came back on trail at this point.

A typical use instance for me is when I'm hiking, and so the trail actually thins out, or I end seeing trail blazes. I get a feeling that I'm not on the trail anymore. When that happens, I look at my Garmin GPS device and see if I'm on (or close to) the hike track that I created earlier. If I'g not, I backtrack until I get on the rails line, then caput frontwards over again, this time avoiding the off-trail detour.

Bones GPS Concepts in Apply

Have an idea on how to brand these guides ameliorate? Leave me your thoughts hither..

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Source: https://hikingguy.com/how-to-hike/creating-a-hike-garmin-gps/

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