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How to send a route to your Garmin watch

Once you've generated a route you like, you can follow it on your Garmin watch as a course — with turn-by-turn prompts on watches that support navigation. It's a two-part job: export a GPX file, then import it into Garmin Connect.

Open LoopMaker →

1. Export the GPX

  1. Generate a route in LoopMaker.
  2. Tap the green ↓ button in the result bar and choose GPX. On a phone this opens the share sheet — choose Save to Files; on a computer it downloads a .gpx file.
Why Save to Files? When you share straight from a browser, iOS often doesn't list Garmin Connect in the share sheet. It's more reliable to save the file and then import it from inside the Garmin Connect app (next step) — that always works.

2. Import it into Garmin Connect

On your phone (the Garmin Connect app): the app imports courses as GPX.

  1. Open Garmin Connect → Courses (More → Training & Planning → Courses).
  2. Tap + → Create a Course → Import.
  3. Pick the .gpx you saved to Files.

On a computer (connect.garmin.com): go to Training & Planning → Courses → Import and select the file. On the web you can also import LoopMaker's FIT course export — Garmin's own format. (On the phone, stick to GPX: a FIT file is read there as a recorded activity, not a course.)

3. Send it to your watch

Open the imported course in Garmin Connect and choose Send to Device (make sure your watch has synced recently). Wait for the sync to finish — the course lands on the watch a minute or two later.

4. Start a navigated run on the watch

Most Garmin running watches with a map or breadcrumb — Forerunner (e.g. 255, 265, 955, 965), fēnix, epix, Venu and vívoactive among them — can guide you along the course with turn-by-turn prompts. The wording varies slightly by model, but the flow is the same:

  1. Press Start and select the activity you'll do (Run, Trail Run, Bike…).
  2. With the activity open (before you start the timer), press and hold the left button for a couple of seconds to open the menu.
  3. Choose Navigation → Courses, pick your course from the list, then choose Do Course.
  4. If offered, select the direction (forward). The watch draws the course line on the map.
  5. Press Start to begin the run — the watch counts distance to the next turn and buzzes with a direction arrow at each one, plus an Off Course alert if you leave the line.
No turn arrows, only a line? Watches without a full map still show a breadcrumb trail to follow. Turn-by-turn prompts need routable course data — LoopMaker's routes follow real roads and paths, so the prompts come through; make sure Turn Guidance (and ClimbPro, if your watch has it) is enabled in the activity's navigation settings.
Check the route before you run. Courses are generated automatically and can be inaccurate or take you somewhere unsafe — glance over the line on the map first and follow local rules and traffic laws. You're responsible for your own safety.
Prefer Strava? See how to create a route on Strava from a GPX file.

Make a route →