Import guide

How do I import a GPX file into Google Maps on an iPhone?

You cannot. Google My Maps has no iPhone or iPad app, so there is no way to import a file on the phone itself, and Google Maps does not read GPX at all — My Maps imports KML. The route that works is: import the KML at mymaps.google.com in a desktop browser, then open the finished map in the Google Maps app on your iPhone under You → Maps. It is a viewable layer, not a file you own, and it needs a connection.

Checked against Google documentation

Take this file
KML

My Maps reads KML. Our GPX and GeoJSON are for the apps further down this page; for the Google route, take the KML.

Works without signal
No

A My Maps layer is fetched from your Google account. It is not stored on the phone as a file, so it is the wrong tool for the interior, where you will lose signal for hours at a time.

What to do

  1. On a computer, sign in at mymaps.google.com and create a map.
  2. Import the KML there. Google states unzipped KML and KMZ files may be up to 5 MB — ours are far smaller than that.
  3. On the iPhone, open Google Maps and go to You → Maps, then tap the map you just made.

Google maintains its own step-by-step, and it is the one that stays current when the menus move: Google: view your My Maps in the Google Maps app (iPhone & iPad) (opens in a new tab)

Formats Google accepts

  • KML we sell this
  • KMZ

Worth knowing

  • There is no iPhone step that can be substituted for the desktop one. Google's own My Maps help page, viewed on the iOS tab, says the app is not available for iPhone or iPad.
  • You cannot edit the map from the phone either — Google directs you back to a browser for that.
Q&A

Questions about this file

What people ask before importing Google Maps on iPhone.

  • You cannot. Google My Maps has no iPhone or iPad app, so there is no way to import a file on the phone itself, and Google Maps does not read GPX at all — My Maps imports KML. The route that works is: import the KML at mymaps.google.com in a desktop browser, then open the finished map in the Google Maps app on your iPhone under You → Maps. It is a viewable layer, not a file you own, and it needs a connection.
  • Google accepts KML, KMZ. Every purchase here ships as KML, GPX and GeoJSON, so whichever one you need is already in the download.
  • A My Maps layer is fetched from your Google account. It is not stored on the phone as a file, so it is the wrong tool for the interior, where you will lose signal for hours at a time.

Other apps

Get the file

Try the free sample on your iPhone first — it imports the same way the paid file does, so you will know inside two minutes whether this works on your setup. Iceland Complete is 121 locations in KML, GPX and GeoJSON, one download, no account.

Get all 121 locations · $49

Sources