There are many ways of finding interesting trails. For navigation purpose, it’s always the .gpx file you are looking for. These can be downloaded from numerous places:
- Specifically for the Netherlands, you have websites like:
- In general there are many outdoor websites listing trails and offering gpx downloads:
- You can use social running tools like Strava or Komoot to see where others are running and download their gpx files
- Race directors or owners of long-distance hiking trails will often provide the gpx tracks of their courses on their websites
- And so on …
There is one more method I would like to spend some more time on in this article, which is finding trails based on OpenStreeMap data. I think this is a less commonly known method, but it has it’s advantages, which I will explain based on the following two use cases:
- I am spending a week of vacation in the Vosges, in the town of La Bresse. How do I get information about the local waymarked trails and their gpx files ?
(Short answer: OpenStreetMap) - I want to run the (unmarked) Dutch Mountain Trail, where do I find the best gpx file?
(Short answer: OpenStreetMap)
Let’s start with the waymarked trails. After all, having clear markers on your path is an easy way to navigate.
Suppose you are spending a week in the Vosges, take La Bresse for example. Then you really don’t need to visit the local tourist office to find information about local trails. OpenStreetMap is full of them, but not all apps/websites show this route layer. For finding local trails https://hiking.waymarkedtrails.org/ is a great place to start.
The routes are provided with information such as length, elevation and the type of marking used.
And, very important, a download GPX option at the bottom of the screen.
Compared to paper maps, you often have more up-to-date information when using this website. For example, last year in Kandersteg you could not to walk from the Oeschinensee to the Fründenhütte, unless you had climbing equipment with you:
Not only waymarked trails can be found this way. Openstreepmap also includes unmarked trails. Take for example the Dutch Mountain Trail. This one is partly marked with white/blue signs, but not enough to navigate on.
Plot-a-route shows this route on their trail map like this:
If you also look at the gpx file of the Dutch Mountain Trail
(sources : https://www.dmff.eu/dutch-mountain-trail/ or https://visitzuidlimburg.nl )
you can immediately see that in some places it has been drawn rather sloppily, for example the climb of the Wilheminaberg near Landgraaf:
Or here, a shortcut through a meadow? And then also via another path?
The same inaccuracies can also be found in the official komoot route of dmff.
These are the main reasons that these types of gpx files are inaccurate:
1. The supplied gpx file was based on a track, measured by a gps, with the associated gps inaccuracy. The gpx files of the Swiss Alps 100 are a good example of this. Many trackpoints, but deviating from the underlying paths.
2. The supplied gpx file was drawn by someone without using the “follow footpaths / “snap to map”) function. The gpx files of the Dutch Mountain Trail are a good example of this. These can be recognized by long straight lines:
The big advantage of a route based on openstreetmap data is its reliance on the map data. This data is composed of the underlying paths. Hence, deviations or inaccuracies as shown above are impossible.
So how do you get a 100% perfect gpx file of the Dutch Mountain Trail?
- Go to https://hiking.waymarkedtrails.org/
- Search for “Dutch Mountain Trail”
- Download gpx