Converting GPX to GeoJSON turns GPS waypoints, routes, and tracks into web-native JSON features.
What is GPX?
GPX (GPS Exchange Format) is an open, XML-based schema for exchanging GPS data such as waypoints, routes, and tracks between devices and applications.
GPX models data through three primary elements: waypoints (individual named points of interest), routes (an ordered list of routepoints describing a planned path), and tracks (recorded paths made of one or more segments of trackpoints, often carrying timestamps and elevation). It is the common tongue of handheld GPS units, fitness watches, and outdoor apps like Garmin, Strava, and Komoot. It is a point- and line-oriented format built around navigation, not a general-purpose polygon or attribute-table format.
What is GeoJSON?
GeoJSON is an open, JSON-based format for encoding vector geographic features and their attributes, standardized as RFC 7946 by the IETF.
A GeoJSON document is plain UTF-8 JSON built from Feature and FeatureCollection objects, each pairing a geometry (Point, LineString, Polygon, and their Multi* variants, or a GeometryCollection) with a free-form "properties" object. Because it is human-readable text, it works well with version control, text diffing, and any JSON tooling, and it is the de facto interchange format for web maps and JavaScript libraries such as Leaflet, Mapbox GL, and OpenLayers. Unlike Shapefile it imposes no field-name length limit, mixes geometry types freely within one collection, and stores everything in a single file.
Why convert GPX to GeoJSON?
GeoJSON is the format web maps and JavaScript libraries read directly, so this is how recorded GPS tracks and waypoints get displayed online. It is common for plotting activity tracks, routes, or field-collected points on a Leaflet or Mapbox map. The result is a single, easy-to-process text file.
Coordinate systems
The GPX specification fixes all coordinates to WGS84 latitude/longitude with elevation in meters, so like KML it carries no projection information and any exported data is expressed in EPSG:4326.
Per RFC 7946, coordinates are longitude/latitude in decimal degrees on the WGS84 datum (EPSG:4326), and the specification removed the older "crs" member, so a compliant GeoJSON file is always assumed to be WGS84. Coordinate order is [longitude, latitude], optionally followed by elevation.
What to watch out for
- Both formats are WGS84, so coordinates transfer without reprojection.
- GPX waypoints become Point features, while routes and tracks become LineString (or MultiLineString) features.
- GPX-specific fields such as timestamps, elevation, and <extensions> are carried into GeoJSON properties, which may vary between tools.
- Multi-segment tracks may be represented as a MultiLineString rather than separate features.
How to convert GPX to GeoJSON
- Drag your GPX file (.gpx) into the converter above, or click to browse.
- Confirm the source is GPX and choose GeoJSON as the output format.
- Optionally pick a target coordinate system (EPSG) to reproject.
- Click Convert and download your GeoJSON file. Everything runs in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
- How do tracks and waypoints map to GeoJSON?
- Waypoints become Point features and routes/tracks become LineString (or MultiLineString) features within a FeatureCollection.
- Are timestamps and elevation kept?
- Where present, they are carried into feature properties, though the exact property names can vary by tool.
- Do coordinates change?
- No. GPX and GeoJSON both use WGS84, so coordinate values are identical.