Maps of You
Export guide

Export KML from Google Earth or My Maps

KML is the one Google format that still behaves. Earth writes it, My Maps writes it, every GIS tool on earth writes it — and we read all of it, including the zipped KMZ variant.

We read this exportSources checked on 7 September 2026 — every screen here is behind a login, so every step is drawn and flagged

  • Where

    Google Earth or google.com/maps/d

  • Arrives

    Immediately

  • You get

    .kml, or .kmz if you tick the box

  • Also fine

    KML from QGIS, Gaia, ViewRanger…

  1. 01

    From My Maps: export the whole map

    Open your map at google.com/maps/d, use the overflow menu next to the map's title, and export. You are offered KML or KMZ; either is fine here. Exporting the entire map rather than a single layer keeps everything in one file.

    google.com/maps/d⋮Export to KML/KMZEntire map

    This may have moved. My Maps is behind a Google sign-in, so these labels come from Google's help pages rather than a screen we photographed. If the menu differs, look for whatever says Export and offers KML.

    The three-dot (⋮) menu, beside the map title

    Copy map
    Export to KML/KMZ
    Print map
    Set default view
    Embed on my site
    DiagramDiagram — the My Maps overflow menu.
  2. 02

    From Google Earth: save the place

    In Earth on the desktop, right-click a folder or a path in the Places panel and save it. In Earth on the web, open a project and export it. Both produce ordinary KML.

    Placesright-clickSave Place As…Kml

    This may have moved. Earth's desktop, web and Pro builds word this differently and have diverged over the years. Look for “Save Place As” or “Export”.

  3. 03

    Upload the file exactly as it is

    Do not unzip a KMZ first — the importer opens it, finds the doc.kml inside, and reads it. Drop one file or a whole folder of them.

    Import your travelsGoogle Timeline (KML)Drag your export here, or click to choose files

    inside a .kml
    <Placemark>
    <LineString>→ one journey
    <MultiGeometry>→ one per LineString
    <gx:Track>→ a journey with times
    <Point>→ a stop, not a line
    <Polygon>ignored
    doc.kml inside a .kmzopened for you
    DiagramDiagram — the KML shapes we recognise.
Once it is uploaded

What we do with the file

So you know what survives the trip from their servers to your wall.

  • Coordinates in KML are written lon,lat[,alt] — we read them in that order, as the spec requires.
  • LineStrings carry no per-vertex time, so we take start and end from the placemark's TimeSpan or TimeStamp when one is present and note the gap when it is not.
  • gx:Track pairs a list of <when> values with a list of <gx:coord> values by index, which gives a fully timed journey.
  • Folder and placemark names feed the travel-mode guess, so a folder called “Cycling 2025” tags its journeys sensibly.
Troubleshooting

When it goes wrong

Where this trips people up, and what to do about each.

Got the file? That is the hard part done.

Drop it in and we draw the ground you covered — the forest, the crop, the rock, the relief of the hills — with your line on top. Nothing you upload is public, and you can delete any of it at any time.

Upload your KML & KMZ exportWhat happens to my data

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