For travelers who don’t use gpx files, we try to explain their use.
So why do we need gpx files and why do we offer them for download?
GPX ( or GPS Exchange Format), is a file used for software navigation. By both kinds of navigation – driving (Garmin) and outdoor activities as well.
We use it very frequently for outdoor navigation like hiking, mountain biking, cycling or cross-country skiing, etc. Gpx files contain latitude and longitude for every single point of the trail or route and all other elements are optional like addresses, photos, etc.
Using outdoor navigation might be extremely helpful if you are doing outdoor activities in a new area where there are no paths to follow or no markers along the way, or you simply get lost. By using an outdoor map you can keep track of your current position and where you are according to the track or route by using the phone’s GPS location, this is also a nice way to see how far you are from the endpoint, and just to make sure you are on the right track even if there are paths and markers along the way. Or to find an optional way when you get lost.
In the past, we used many outdoor navigation applications like Outdooractive, Wikiloc, Alltrails, etc. But none of them suited our needs.
In 2018 we discovered an application called Locus Map which we started to use, and we are sure that we found the best option for outdoor navigation at the moment. It offers everything that a hiker or other outdoor enthusiast may need. Moreover, it is affordable indeed.
What advantages the Locus Map offers – we try to summarize them.
Locus Map is a multipurpose mobile outdoor navigation app for Android smart devices that:
- offers all kinds of outdoor maps online, free
- offers offline LoMaps of individual countries for very affordable prices
- allows the use of other offline maps that are offered for free (= Oruxmaps free downloadable at https://www.openandromaps.org/en)
- offline maps have all the necessary details and colored marked bike & hike trails
- has a recording and saving option
- has an import option – able to import further formats like kml, kmz, gpx,tcx, geojson,etc.
- has an export option – able to export further formats like kml, kmz, gpx, csv, tcx, etc.
- has a perfect router planner – so we can prepare our own trail combining various trails into unique combinations that suit our needs (depending on the starting and ending point, physical shape, available time, etc.)
- navigation by voice command or displaying a trail and your position on the offline map or by both ways without a need to be online; it is very important for all outdoor enthusiasts because mountains don’t have usually an internet signal, or if yes it is a very weak signal
- is able to cooperate with local drives, Google Drive, Dropbox, and other remote drives
- has many further features like geocaching, that we are still discovering, step by step…
All details about Locus Map you find here: www.locusmap.eu.
There is a free version of Locus Map, however, with limited functions.
It is important to say that we have no relationship with the Locus developers; the developer or the developers don’t know anything about us, and we hope that they would have nothing against this recommendation.
However, if you use other outdoor applications, and download any of our trails, enjoy them!