GPX to Shapefile Converter
Move a recorded GPS track from a consumer device into a professional GIS workflow.
Common issues converting GPX to Shapefile
- GPX has three feature kinds (waypoint = point, route = polyline, track = polyline). The converter buckets them — if your file has both waypoints and tracks, the output contains the dominant type (most features by count).
- Track segments (multiple <trkseg> within a track) merge into a single MultiLineString-style record where possible, or each segment becomes its own polyline.
- Per-point timestamps, elevation, heart rate, cadence, and other extensions are dropped — DBF supports limited column types and gpx_ext data doesn't fit cleanly. Use the GeoJSON or FlatGeobuf targets if you need to preserve those.
- Output is a .zip bundle. Unzip before opening in ArcGIS/QGIS — do not point the tool at the .shp inside the archive without extracting first.
Frequently asked questions
Will my elevation data survive?
Per-point elevation is dropped at the DBF layer. The geometry is 2D (X/Y) only. For 3D output, use the GeoJSON target — that preserves coordinate Z.
How are timestamps handled?
Track point timestamps are dropped. If you need them as a track-level field (start time, end time), use a downstream tool to compute them from the original GPX before this conversion.
Can I get the waypoints AND tracks in one output?
Not in one Shapefile — Shapefile is single-geometry-type. The converter outputs the dominant bucket. Run the conversion twice or use FlatGeobuf / GeoParquet for both in one file.
What CRS does the output use?
WGS 84 (EPSG:4326), matching GPX's native CRS. The .prj inside the ZIP declares this so ArcGIS / QGIS recognise it automatically.