GPX to 3D print

Open the GPX file from your watch, phone or Strava export and MapsTo3D lays the route on the real terrain it crossed, raised as a ribbon you can feel. Add the place name on the frame and it becomes a keepsake.

Open the map maker

Free, no account, no watermark. The model is built in your browser and never uploaded.

How to do it

1. Open your file. In the map maker, import a GPX, KML or GeoJSON file. It is read on your device and never uploaded.
2. Frame the route. The route appears on the map straight away. Move and turn the frame so it follows the route rather than north; a route is usually long and thin, and a square frame wastes most of the plate.
3. Make it 3D and set the route's width and how far it stands proud of the ground under Layers.
4. Export. In the 3MF the route is its own part, so it can print in a contrasting colour.

What your file becomes

Route width runs from 0.4 to 6 mm, and its height above the ground from 0.2 to 6 mm. For a single-colour print, go a little taller rather than wider: height catches the shadow, and the shadow is what makes the line visible.

Exaggerate more than you would for terrain

A day's walk covers 15 to 30 km, and at that width the hills flatten out. On a route print the line is the subject and the ground is context, so 2× to 3× on a long hike, and up to 10× on a flat road ride, is reasonable. The longer guide to route prints is here.

Good to know

• Share links save the area and settings but not your imported route, since the file never leaves your device. Keep the GPX to rebuild the model later.
• Very long routes, such as a multi-day trek, can be split into tiles that fit your printer and assembled into one wall map.

Questions

Related

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• Map-to-3D tools compared — MapsTo3D against five alternatives