Convert GML to GPX Online — Free GIS Converter

Converting GML to GPX extracts route centerlines, footpath networks, or surveyed traverses from institutional GIS data and turns them into a format that GPS devices, fitness apps, and navigation platforms can load directly for field navigation.

Why convert GML to GPX?

Government portals and INSPIRE datasets frequently publish infrastructure networks — hiking trails, cycling routes, footpaths, and road centerlines — in GML format. This data is geometrically accurate and maintained by authoritative sources, making it valuable for field navigation. But a Garmin device, Strava, AllTrails, or Komoot cannot read GML. Converting those authoritative GML linestrings to GPX makes them loadable on a GPS device for turn-by-turn navigation, importable into a route planner, or shareable with outdoor athletes who use fitness tracking platforms. This workflow is especially common for trail planners, outdoor event organizers, and land managers who maintain official datasets in GML but need to share navigable routes with users in the field.

Why use geodata.plus

• Free tier includes 3 conversions per month with no account required
• Automatic CRS detection from the GML srsName — reprojects to WGS 84 (required by GPX) automatically
• Entirely browser-based — no desktop GIS or GPS utility software needed
• Encrypted upload (TLS); files stored in Cloudflare R2, automatically deleted after 2 days (free) or 7 days (Pro)
• Line features are converted to GPX tracks; point features become GPX waypoints
• Optional filtering of geometry types before export

How it works

1. Upload your .gml file to geodata.plus
2. geodata.plus reads the GML feature schema and detects the source CRS from srsName
3. Select GPX as the output format; geodata.plus automatically reprojects to WGS 84
4. Download your .gpx file and load it onto your GPS device, Garmin Connect, Strava, or AllTrails

GML format

GML (Geography Markup Language) is the OGC XML standard for institutional spatial data exchange. It supports any CRS and all geometry types, with complex nested attribute schemas. Government trail networks, road centerlines, and administrative boundaries published via WFS services or INSPIRE portals are commonly encoded in GML. The data is geometrically precise but requires GIS software to read — no consumer navigation app handles GML natively.

| Property | Value | |---|---| | Extension | .gml | | Type | Vector, single-file XML | | Coordinate system | Any CRS (declared via srsName) | | Geometry types | Point, LineString, Polygon, Multi- variants, complex curves/surfaces | | Common software | QGIS, ArcGIS, WFS services, EU INSPIRE portals, government systems |

GPX format

GPX (GPS Exchange Format) is an XML standard designed for GPS data exchange between devices and applications. All GPX coordinates must be in WGS 84 — there is no mechanism to declare another CRS. GPX is constrained to three geometry concepts: waypoints (discrete points), routes (planned sequences of points), and tracks (recorded GPS paths). It cannot represent polygon features. GPX is the most widely supported format for consumer GPS devices and fitness tracking platforms, making it the practical bridge between institutional GIS data and field navigation.

| Property | Value | |---|---| | Extension | .gpx | | Type | Vector, single-file XML | | Coordinate system | WGS 84 (EPSG:4326) only | | Geometry types | Points (waypoints), LineStrings (routes/tracks) | | Common software | Garmin, Strava, AllTrails, Komoot, QGIS, ArcGIS |

Frequently asked questions

My GML dataset includes polygon features like park boundaries. What happens to them during conversion? GPX cannot represent polygon geometries. geodata.plus converts polygon exterior rings to GPX tracks (closed LineStrings) so the boundary shape is preserved as a navigable line, which can be useful for marking patrol routes or event boundaries. Interior polygon attributes that have no GPX equivalent are dropped. A warning is included in the download summary noting which feature types were converted with geometry changes.

GML is often in a projected CRS like ETRS89-LAEA. Does the conversion reproject automatically? Yes. GPX requires WGS 84 coordinates, and geodata.plus performs the reprojection from the source CRS — read from the GML srsName — to WGS 84 automatically as part of the conversion. You do not need to reproject the GML manually before uploading.

Will the feature names from the GML dataset appear as waypoint or track names in GPX? Yes. geodata.plus maps GML attribute values likely to be names (attributes named name, label, title, OBJECTID, or similar) to the GPX <name> element on each waypoint or track. This ensures that route names and point-of-interest labels from the authoritative dataset appear in your GPS device or navigation app after loading the GPX file.