Google Map Routes to Garmin

[JimD]

This is not exactly a BMW topic but I hope it's OK. BMW Portable Pro and Portable Plus are rebadged Garmins so this should work on them too, if that matters. Anyway, I learned of a fairly easy way to transfer a route you make in Google Maps to the Garmin. The steps are:

1) Go to this website: http://www.elsewhere.org/journal/gmaptogpx/#

2) As explained at that website, you need to create a Favorite in your web browser for a site that launches the actual software.

3) Open Google Maps and create a route. This can be as simple as just getting directions between two points. Google lets you pick between routes, unlike Garmins. So get the one you want on the screen and then click on your new favorite.

4) You will get a new window with an ascii file that you are now going to turn into a gpx file for the garmin. To do this, copy the text from this screen and paste it into your favorite editor. I used Word. Then save the resulting file as a ascii file - typically that means a .txt extension. Then rename the the file into something you will remember with a ".gpx" extension.

5) Move the file to the Garmin into a directory with other .gpx files in it.

6) Import the new gpx file. You will find the command in the tools menu if I remember right.

Congratulations! You now have a route you can follow on the Garmin. This would have saved a BUNCH of time when my son and I went to the tail of the dragon last labor day. We stayed on scenic routes but my son had to put a bunch of via points into the google which is slow. And the points he put in were sometimes a mile or so off the route we really wanted to take. The Google via points should be on the route avoiding some nonsense.

Jim