How to export a GPX activity from Garmin Connect?
Garmin Connect interface shown for illustrative purposes. Garmin and Garmin Connect are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries. Epic Trace is an independent service and is not affiliated with Garmin.
If you run, ride, or hike with a Garmin watch or cycling computer, every one of your outings is recorded in Garmin Connect — with its complete track.
This track can be exported in just a few clicks, in GPX, TCX, or its original FIT format: all three are accepted by the configurator. It is what allows you to create a 3D topographic relief of your route, with your path placed on the real terrain.
Exporting from the Garmin Connect website
The GPX export is done from the website, connect.garmin.com:
- Log in and open the relevant activity (Activities menu).
- Click on the gear icon (⚙) at the top right of the activity page.
- Choose "Export to GPX" — or "Export Original" if you prefer, the result is the same for the relief.
- The file will download: this is the file you will import into the configurator, without unzipping or converting it.
From the Garmin Connect mobile app
The mobile app generally does not offer GPX export directly. Two simple solutions:
- open connect.garmin.com in your phone's browser and follow the steps above;
- or wait until you are on a computer — the export only takes a minute.
GPX, TCX or "original": which to choose?
The Garmin export menu offers several formats: GPX, TCX, and "original" (a FIT file, delivered in a ZIP). All three work in the Epic Trace configurator, ZIP included: import whichever you have on hand, the track is extracted automatically. The training data (heart rate, power) they contain is simply ignored.
To understand the differences in detail: GPX, FIT, or TCX: which file should I use?
Two useful checks
Was the GPS active? An indoor session or one on a home trainer has no track. Open the activity: if no map is displayed, there is nothing to export.
Is the track complete? A watch that lost the signal (tunnel, dense forest, rushed start) may produce an incomplete trace. A quick look at the activity map is enough to check it — and the configurator's 3D preview will show you anyway before you order.
What happens next?
Import your file into the Epic Trace configurator: you choose the area and framing, you visualize your creation in 3D, and we manufacture your piece in France, mounted on a solid oak base.