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How to Open a GPX File on iPhone

A GPX file is a route, a recorded track or a list of places, saved in a format almost every GPS device and app understands. Here is what is inside one and how to open it on an iPhone.

Updated 1 October 2026

What a GPX file is

GPX, the GPS Exchange Format, is an open XML format for GPS data, published by TopoGrafix. The current version, GPX 1.1, dates from 2004 and is still the format nearly every GPS unit, hiking app, cycling computer and mapping site uses to share routes. Because it is plain text, you can open one in any text editor and read it.

What is inside

A GPX file can hold three kinds of thing, in any mix:

Element	What it is	Typical use
`<wpt>` waypoint	A single named point: latitude, longitude, and optionally elevation, time and a description.	A campsite, a parking spot, a summit, a cache.
`<rte>` route	An ordered list of route points (`<rtept>`) to travel through. Usually few points, planned in advance.	A planned hike or ride: "go here, then here".
`<trk>` track	A recorded path: one or more segments (`<trkseg>`) of track points (`<trkpt>`), each usually with a time.	Where you actually went, as recorded by a GPS.

A single track point looks like this:

<trkpt lat="51.50135" lon="-0.14189">
  <ele>14.2</ele>
  <time>2026-10-01T09:14:05Z</time>
</trkpt>

Coordinates are always decimal degrees on the WGS 84 datum, the same system GPS uses, and times are in UTC. See coordinate formats explained if you need to convert them.

Opening a GPX file on iPhone

The Files app can store a GPX file, but tapping it gives you a preview at best, not a map you can follow. To see the route on a map, open the file in an app that declares it can read GPX. Then:

From Files: long-press the file, tap Share, and choose the app. Or open the app and use its import button.
From Mail or Messages: tap the attachment, then the share button, and choose the app.
From a website: tap the download link. Safari saves it to Downloads in Files. Open it from there as above.
By AirDrop: iOS asks which app to open it with.

If the app you want is not in the share sheet, scroll the row of apps to the end and tap More; apps that can open GPX appear there.

Following a GPX route

Viewing a route is one thing; following it on the ground is another. A good follower shows where you are against the line, the direction and distance to the next point, and how far is left. Make sure whatever you use has an offline map or works without one. GPS works with no signal, but a map that has to download tiles does not. See does GPS work without internet?

Common problems

Tapping the file only shows a preview

That is the Files preview. Use Share and pick a GPS app instead.

The route is a straight line between two points

The file has a route with only a few route points, not a recorded track. Routes are drawn point to point; the app does not know the road or path between them.

The file will not import

Check that it really is GPX. KML/KMZ (Google Earth), FIT (Garmin activity files) and TCX are different formats, and some sites save HTML error pages with a .gpx name. Opening the file as text shows which it is: a GPX file starts with <?xml and contains <gpx.

Sources

TopoGrafix, GPX: the GPS Exchange Format, and the GPX 1.1 schema documentation.