Mapping your GPS Tracks with Google Earth

There are a couple of ways to map your GPS tracks in Google Earth. One is to upgrade to Google Earth Plus, which cost $20 last time I did this. Google Earth Plus allows you to upload your GPS tracklog and map it in Google Earth Plus.

But what if you have some old GPS tracks you've downloaded and saved, then erased the current track log? You can convert your old tracks to Google "KML" files (or "KMZ" files, which are simply zipped KML files), thanks to GPS-Visualizer. This is a free service run by Adam Schneider. Follow the directions on his website:

Adam doesn't charge for this service, but if you use it for more than just a test, do send him a contribution in appreciation of what he's done for all of us. Adam's website will return a .kmz file. If you double-click on this, it will open Google Earth and zoom to the extent of your file. If you've saved your GPS tracks with DNR Garmin in the plain "text" format, you can use a simple text editor such as Notepad to delete points you don't want to map, before you submit your file to gpsvisualizer.com for conversion. Adam's website expects elevation data in meters; if you've stored elevation in feet, then modify the column header in the text file to say "altitude(feet)" instead of just "altitude", otherwise your tracks may be displayed floating 'way above the terrain. Here are some sailplane tracks (page 84 in "Fun") viewed in Google Earth: