KMZ to GPX converter
Turn a KMZ file from Google My Maps or Google Earth into a GPX file your GPS watch, bike computer or hiking app can follow. No unzipping, free, and no account needed.
Convert KMZ to GPX online, in your browser
From a .kmz straight to GPX 1.1. The Spatibase KMZ to GPX converter unpacks the KMZ archive in your web browser and writes the map inside it as a GPX file. What you get:
- Pins become waypoints and paths become tracks; a polygon is written as a closed track around its edge.
- Carried over: names, descriptions as plain text, altitude as elevation, and the time of every point of a Google Earth recorded track.
- Not carried over: icons and photos packed in the KMZ, ExtendedData fields, folders and line colours. GPX has no place for them.
- Private by design. The KMZ is read on your device, up to 50 MB, with no upload and no sign-up.
How to convert KMZ to GPX
- Export the KMZ. In Google My Maps, open the three-dot menu next to the map title, choose Export to KML/KMZ and pick the layer with your route; leaving the KML box unticked gives a .kmz. In Google Earth Pro, right-click the path under Places → Save Place As.
- Drop the .kmz on the box above, or press Choose a file. The sample is a small Barcelona KMZ with five places, a walking route and three areas.
- Check the map: your route is a line, your places are pins. The notes underneath say which areas became closed tracks and which fields were left out.
- Press Download GPX. Import it as a course in Garmin Connect, or open it in Komoot, OsmAnd, Gaia GPS, Wikiloc or another app that reads GPX.
What your KMZ becomes in the GPX
| What | What happens |
|---|---|
| The KML inside the KMZ | Read for you: doc.kml at the top of the archive, or the first .kml if there is no doc.kml. |
| Placemarks | Waypoints (wpt) with name, description and, if the placemark has a TimeStamp, its time. |
| Paths and lines | Tracks (trk), one track segment for each part of a line. |
Recorded Google Earth tracks (gx:Track) | Tracks that keep a time on every point. |
| Polygons | A closed track around the outer boundary; inner holes are dropped, since GPX knows no areas. |
| Altitude | The ele value of each point. |
| Photos and icons packed in the KMZ | Not included: a GPX file is text only, and GPS apps show their own symbols. |
| ExtendedData, folders and styles | Dropped. The notes name each field that had no place in the GPX. |
Why a GPS needs GPX, not KMZ
KMZ is made for Google Earth. It is a zip archive holding a KML map (placemarks, paths, areas, styles) and often the pictures the map uses. Google My Maps hands you one by default when you export.
GPX is made for navigation. Garmin, Wahoo, Suunto, Coros and almost every outdoor app import GPX, while few of them open a KMZ. So a route planned in My Maps needs one conversion before it reaches your wrist or handlebar.
Two ways a GPX stores a line, and why this converter picks tracks:
- A track (`<trk>`) keeps every point of your path, so the device shows exactly the line you drew. This is what you get here.
- A route (`<rte>`) is a few turn points; the device works out the way between them and may take another street.
Already have a plain .kml? The KML to GPX converter takes it the same way, and it also accepts KMZ.
KMZ to GPX in a terminal: unzip, then GPSBabel
GPSBabel reads the KML but not the zip around it, so take doc.kml out of the archive first:
# see what the KMZ holds, then pipe the main KML out
unzip -l trip.kmz
unzip -p trip.kmz doc.kml > trip.kml
# KML in, GPX out
gpsbabel -i kml -f trip.kml -o gpx -F trip.gpxIn JavaScript, unzipSync from fflate opens the KMZ and kml() from @tmcw/togeojson reads the KML inside into GeoJSON, which is how this converter starts; it then writes the GPX itself.
Questions about converting KMZ to GPX
How do I put a Google My Maps KMZ on my Garmin?
Convert the KMZ here and download the GPX. In Garmin Connect, go to Courses, choose Import, pick the GPX and save it as a course, then send it to your watch or Edge bike computer.
Can Komoot import a KMZ file?
No. Komoot imports GPX and FIT files, not KMZ or KML. Convert the KMZ to GPX first, then import it from the route planner and save it as a planned tour.
Do I need to unzip the KMZ before converting it to GPX?
No. Drop the .kmz as it is and the converter reads the KML inside the archive. Only command-line tools such as GPSBabel need the doc.kml taken out first.
What happens to the areas I drew in My Maps?
Each area becomes a closed track that follows its outer edge, because GPX has points and lines only. Holes inside an area are left out. The notes count the areas that were changed.
Are the custom icons and photos from the KMZ kept?
No. GPX stores coordinates and a few text fields per point, not images. Your GPS app or device draws its own symbols for waypoints and tracks.
Moving the places into Spatibase? Read how to import your data. Need another pair of formats? The GIS file converter converts between all of them.