I frequently get questions from readers, and one that crops up quite often goes something like this – “I’m doing a sportive event soon and I’ve downloaded the GPX of the route. How do I transfer the GPX file to my Garmin?”
So, you’ve got a big event or route coming up? Congratulations, that’s awesome, particularly if it’s your first. By the way, if you need some serious tips about how to survive your first BIG ride, try this post.
Here’s a step by step guide showing you how to load a GPX file of a sportive to your Garmin Bike GPS computer.
If you’ve got a Garmin Edge 25, you will also want to read this post first.
Video Version.
The video includes a great tip not included in the text version below.
Here’s what one ScarletFire reader had to say about the video:
Your video on downloading a GPX was excellent. I had spent two hours faffing around and you cured my problem really quickly. The instructions from Evans for downloading their GPX file were pathetic.
#1 Download the GPX file from the event website.
The first step is to download the GPX file so that you have a copy on your computer. If you’ve entered a paid event, chances are that you’ll get an email from them at some point with instructions about how to download the file. Otherwise, it would be worth looking for a section about the route details, and look for a link to download the GPX file.
Try to pay attention to where your computer will save the file, because you need to be able to locate it later.
#2 Transfer GPX file to Garmin
This is the bit that seems to stump some people, but it’s really rather easy once you’ve done it once or twice. Hey, it’s like riding a bike! You have the GPX file on your computer, and you just need to move or transfer it over to the Garmin device.
To do this, follow these steps:
Connect the Garmin to the computer with a USB cable.
Check that you can “see” the device, plus its memory card (if there’s one installed). In Windows, the best way to do this is to double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop. This shows you all of the various drives in your computer, plus any attached storage devices.
This is what mine looks like with the Garmin connected. The H: drive is clearly labelled Garmin Edge 800. That’s the internal memory of the unit itself. The one labelled “Removable Disk (J:)” is the SD card inside the Garmin. Yours may be assigned a different letter. You can copy your route to either the internal memory OR the SD card.
Double click into either the Garmin’s own internal memory, OR the SD card.
You’ll see a folder called Garmin. Double click into that folder, and you’ll see a range of folders, including one called NewFiles.
Copy your GPX file into the NewFiles folder.
To do this, just drag and drop the file from your computer to the NewFiles window. Or copy and paste it, whichever is easier and quicker for you.
I know some people can get a bit stuck on this part, and it’s often overlooked. People who write tutorials on the web make certain assumptions that everybody knows how to undertake such basic tasks as copying files, but take it from me, I know how many people struggle with these things. Computers are weird aren’t they?
This might help –
You should have two windows open – the window with the GPX file that you downloaded, plus the window showing the NewFiles folder on your Garmin.
Try to arrange these windows so that you can see both of them on screen at the same time. You can drag the edges of the windows to re-size them.
Once you can see both, click on the GPX file and hold the mouse button down whilst dragging the file over to the “NewFiles” window. This is called a “drag and drop”, and will copy the file over for you.
Alternatively – find the GPX file you downloaded, and right-click on it (click on it with the right mouse button) and choose “Copy” from the options in the menu that appears.
Right-click inside the “NewFiles” folder and then choose “Paste” from the options. This will also copy the file over for you.
Congratulations, you can now successfully transfer a GPX file to a Garmin! Easy, wasn’t it?
#3 Disconnect and then restart your Garmin
When you restart your Garmin, it looks in the NewFiles folder to check if there are any, erm, new files.
If it finds a GPX file in there, it will create a course out of it, which will then appear in the Courses menu.
To access the Courses menu
Tap the Menu button, followed by Courses. Simple!
You should then see your GPX course in the list. Tap it to see more info.
This bit is important!
Before you start the course, you need to manually adjust the settings so that the unit will provide Turn by Turn directions for you.
To do this, tap the spanner icon, then choose the Turn Guidance option, and make sure it is switched to ON.
Most people advise to turn the Virtual Partner function OFF.
The course is now ready, and if you press GO it will calculate the route for you.
I don’t seem to be able to add more than 1 file to my edge800 at once. If I upload 2 or more files either with this method or with Basecamp only one new course can be found after starting the edge.
I’ve heard from other users that they don’t have this problem. Any idea what is wrong with my device?
Eddie – I have the same issue. Did you ever discover a solution?
My computer do not recognize my Garmin 800 nore. What do I do ?
First thing I would try would be a different USB lead.
this was sooo easy and such a useful guide. thanks so much
You’re welcome Andrew! Please tell all your friends ;-)
I’ve entered a sportive and the website for the event have both gpx and tcx routes – I’ve hit the download button and after a few seconds all I see is a great long list of directions – nothing pops up asking me to save these files anywhere – can you help please
Hi Malcolm, it sounds like your browser might be opening the file up, and showing you the contents of the actual file. What you’re trying to do is save the file to your computer. Try right-clicking on the download link and then choosing Save Target As…. (might vary depending on your browser).
Alan yes you’re right 100% about seeing the contents of the file – I’ll see if I can find the suggestion you mention but I’m sure I looked at every conceivable way to save the actual file – I have windows 8 and a mate of mine has had the same problem also with windows 8 – thankfully my other half offered her iMac to use and it saved no problem at all. Would be nice to get puter to work though – thanks Malcolm
Hi, I’m looking to do the same for the activities. Is it possible to transfer activities from Garmin Connect to an Edge 1000. I have tried to push my CSV file into “New Files” and also convert it to FIT and push it to “New Files”. Doesn’t work in both solution. Any ideas
Thank you so so so so much, so simple when someone explains it clearly
Thanks for this. There appeared to be a syn issue. The file is on my Edge Touring Plus but hasnt transferred to my courses in “Garmin Connect” – any ideas?
You can also upload a route file as an Activity into Connect, then ‘Save As Course’. Go to the list of Courses, find the one you just created and give it a different name. Save it, then go back and delete the Activity (or it’ll look like you already did it!).
I’m doing this on an Edge 1000 and everything works perfectly when I transfer a qpx/tcx file to the ‘NewFiles’ folder on the Garmin itself. However, when I transfer the same files to the microSD card I have mounted in the Edge it does not work (the files write to the card but the Garmin does not seem to see them). I’ve created a folder on the microSD called ‘Garmin’ but the Edge fails to add the file to the ‘Courses’ menu. I even tried creating a subfolder called ‘NewFiles’ and put files in there but it still didn’t work. Then I realised that the Edge has been writing all my activities to the internal memory even though I have told it to write to the microSD card in Settings>System>Data Recording. The card is mounted correctly as it appears on the computer when I plug in the Garmin and, as I mentioned, I am able to write files to it when I plug the Garmin into the computer.
My firmware is version 2.80 and I see that there is an update available but my only windows machine runs XP and Garmin Express requires Windows 7 or later. I wonder if anyone knows either if I’m doing something wrong or if the firmware update will cure this issue.
Hi – can anyone help with getting “turn by turn” instructions on the 810? It doesn’t have the same instruction set as the 800 tutorial from Alan!
I’ve got a Edge 810 and this process works fine for me.
The thing I’m still not sure about is whether to use a GPX or TCX file? The sportive I’m doing has both available, but which is better / easier?
Hi,
I’ve got the Edge 25.
I can copy the file to the newfiles folder but when I restart the device, the file is deleted from that folder without showing a new course.
Any idea how to make it work?
I’ve heard that the Edge 25 will only accept .FIT files, so you’ll need to convert a GPX or TCX to the .FIT format before moving it over to the NewFiles folder.
Try using TCX Converter – http://tcxconverter.com/TCX_Converter/TCX_Converter_ENG.html
This application does not work. It is a waste of time.
Try the tool outlined in this post https://www.scarletfire.co.uk/transfer-gpx-file-garmin-edge-25/
This is great, the courses have popped up on my Garmin. Is there a way I can get them to also appear on Garmin Connect however?
Hi
I’ve previously loaded .gpx files onto my Garmin Edge 500, with no problems. However, when I now try and load files, they show up in the Courses folder of the 500 on my PC but not on the Garmin when it is dismounted, i.e. ready to use.
Any pointers as to what I’m doing wrong?
The Garmin converts the file to .fit and relocate them to the course folder.
Hi there
This looked like the best set of instructions I had seen after much google and garmin roaming. However, as I try to copy /paste the gpx files into New Files it tells me that “I need administrator permission to copy this file.” I’ve tried with a few – some provided by sportives I’m signed up to, some from a cycling camp I’ve signed up to etc. Same deal… any tips?
Thank you I forgot about the new files bit. Just off to sign the Hell of the North Cotswold Route. Sop over 1200 MTBer going the wrong way would not be funny!
Thanks for your concise instructions – made it easy to upload dragon GPX file to Garmin 1000.
Hi
Just tried following your very simple & clear instructions to drag & drop a gpx file from my Dropbox folder on my laptop to the New Files folder on my Garmin Edge 20, restarted my Garmin and… no sign of the new course.
Whilst doing the drag & drop I got a message saying “The file has properties that can’t be transferred to the new location” which I could either select Yes, Skip or Cancel. Tried Yes and Skip but neither option works
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Mike
Just noticed that my other courses in my Edge 20 have a .FIT file extension, not a .gpx Might this be an issue?
Yes, take a look at this post: https://www.scarletfire.co.uk/transfer-gpx-file-garmin-edge-25/
Hi,
Thanks for the tip to transfer GPX files to the Edge 25 via GPSies. Id previously been using a tortuous route to convert mmo files from Memory Map to Garmin FIT using two different applications!
I still have one problem – the FIT file is now present in the Edge COURSES folder (automatically moved from the NEWFILES folder) but does not show in Garmin Connect, even after a restart and sync.
I tried manually importing the FIT file into the Activities section, but it is rejected (maybe because it is a route file and not a track?)
Id like to see the route/course in Garmin Connect … any suggestions?
Many thanks,
Just answered my own question!
Garmin Connect will only import files with time & date stamps. Most routes do not contain this data (which is what makes them routes and not tracks!)
However, there is a simple and free (PC) app to automatically insert this data to a GPX file for example, and the file will then be accepted by Garmin Connect:
http://www.gpstrackeditor.com/
Hope this helps anyone with the same issue I had!
That’s a really useful tip Kevin, thanks for sharing :-)
I hope Garmin shows you their gratitude as I was ready to return their (very expensive) product before I found your post.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Very helpful – thank you.
Hi
I’ve completed all of that to the letter but the GPs route is not on my Garmin edge as a new course , any suggestions
Hi, I have the same problem as already mentioned previously : I am unable to load more than 1 track at once. This problem occurs when copying gpx files to the newfiles folder as you described in this topic, but also when transfering tracks using basecamp.
Any solution ?
thanks!
peter
Thanks simple instructions and worked fine on Garmin 820 Edge as well
many thanks , now ihave my jogle route complete
Nice one – works well or the Garmin 520 as well!
I have an Edge 520 which used to accept courses as you have described but this has now stopped working. It transfers the course TCX file to new files and I can see it there but when it restarts no cause has been downloaded. I have updated the software and reinstalled Garmin communicator plug in but it still won’t work.
Any ideas?
Any chance the memory is full? Try emptying out your previous ride data from the Garmin/Activities folder (copy the files somewhere as a backup if you feel the need to first!)
I have an Edge 1000 have followed the instructions to download / copy route files in to the ‘new files’ directory but they are not appearing on my device. I have restarted the devise.
Any suggestions as to what I am doing wrong
Are there any sorts of issues with versions for my Garmin 500?
I’m pretty sure it worked fin a year ago, but now the GPX-file lies untouched in the “new files”-folder.
[vs. 3.30 // GPS 2.60]
The above solution doesn’t work on my Edge Touring as there is no courses option,there’s is rides,Trips and Routing options but pressing none of these shows my GPX I just downloaded I think I regret buying this GPS and should have stuck with the Satmap Active 10.
This tutorial seems all well and good but I have to say it didn’t turn out like this for me.I am a mac user and don’t have the latest version of Mac OSX so maybe this is the reason I have been having so many problems with GPX files.Firstly putting them into the new files folder on the devices memory card doesn’t work for me I have to put them into the GPX folder which makes sense if you think about but the device itself rarely displays the imported file on the unit itself.It took me a dozen attempts for just one GPX file but after a lot of trial ,error and factory resets the downloaded route showed up on the courses menu of the Edge touring.However all was not well because once selected it took 4 and a half hours for my edge touring to calculate the route even though there were no extra way points on the route apart from the beginning and end.By contrast my old GPS a Satmap Active 10 only takes seconds before the route is ready to ride.
I get *SO* many emails from people who use macs, that I can only conclude that something within the Mac environment messes this up. I do recall reading that using Chrome instead of Safari is a solution, because the file extension is retained properly when you download through Chrome. (I’ve never been a Mac user so I can’t verify this).
Post back here if it helps?
Thanks, instructions worked fine on my 820. Not impressed with Garmin ease of use. Garmin connect or Express (installs from device) should allow management of this task and all features and settings not depending on actually being on the road.
I did all this with my new Garmin edge explore 1000 and nothing happened. Copied GPXC file to “new files” checked I could see it in Windows explorer. Disconected Garmin – nothing. Powered off and restarted, nothing. Connect the GPS to my computer again and the file has dissapeared, so the device has done something with it. Makes no difference if I put GPX file into “newfiles” folder on garmin itself, or in the micro SD card.
Works fine if I plan a route with Garmin Connect and export.
I am having exactly the same issue. I can see the files on the Garmin via the pc but when I look for them on the 1000 they are not there.
I have exactly the same problem. Did either of you find a solution?
Thank you!! Maybe you can help with this issue now. I have the Garmin Edge 820 and when I open my courses on the Edge there is a number and text written over the top on my route name. I export from Map My Ride and does that program number the routes? Would there be a way to edit the file so it doesn’t number each ride?
Yay, did it once then some time pfaffing for the next course.
One revisit to instructions- done!
Very helpful and simple. Thanks
Thanks for a very straight forward and easy to follow guidance.
Sir, l have been 18 months in vain trying to load rides. Reduced to tears at the most complicated procedure with no success. I really do not know where to turn next. Nightmare.
Excellent straight forward instructions that a MAMIL can follow. Thank You.
Thanks Anthony, glad it helped you out :-)
Brilliant! I am on a Mac so I just dragged and dropped but the principle was the same. Thanks millions for clear, simple instructions. I had to convert the file from KML to GPX first and used a neat (and free) website https://mygeodata.cloud/converter/kml-to-gpx. After that I found your instructions and I was good to go. Thank you so much!
That’s really helpful, thanks. I get a lot of email from confused Mac users and I’ve no experience with them, so I hope this helps other mac users too!