GPX vs TCX for trail data: which one fits a hike?
TCX and GPX are both plain-text XML, and both hold the same basic ingredient underneath — a list of coordinates. The difference is what each one organizes that list around. GPX describes a line: one continuous track from start to end. TCX describes an activity split into laps. For a single hike from a trailhead back to a trailhead, that difference usually settles the question by itself.
What each format is built to hold
GPX is a line
GPX has no built-in concept of splitting one activity into segments. A track is just an ordered list of points from the moment recording starts to the moment it stops. That is the whole structure, which is also why it is simple enough that almost anything reads it.
TCX is a structured activity
TCX stands for Training Center XML — the name comes from Garmin Training Center, the desktop software it was originally built for. Where GPX gives you one continuous list of points, TCX wraps the same kind of point data inside an "Activity" made of one or more "Lap" elements, each carrying its own start time, distance and duration. That structure exists for sessions built from repeated segments — an effort, a break, an effort again — where being able to look at one segment on its own is the point.
Why that matters for a hike
A hike is usually one continuous stretch from trailhead to trailhead, not a series of repeated segments with breaks in between. TCX's lap structure has nothing to attach itself to in that case. Most tools just write the whole hike as a single lap, which throws away the one thing TCX offers over GPX without gaining anything back — you end up with a more verbose file describing exactly the same line GPX would describe more simply.
Side by side
- Structure: GPX is one continuous track. TCX organizes an activity into laps.
- Origin: GPX is an open, vendor-neutral format published in 2002. TCX was introduced by Garmin for its own Training Center software.
- Compatibility: GPX opens in nearly anything built for GPS data — mapping tools, GIS software, most route-planning services. TCX is read natively by Garmin Connect and accepted more narrowly elsewhere.
- Best fit: GPX for a single continuous route. TCX for an activity you specifically want broken into laps.
- Readability: both are plain XML text, openable in any text editor.
Converting between them
Going from TCX to GPX is straightforward — the underlying points are the same, and the conversion just discards the lap boundaries, which rarely matters for a hike. Desktop tools such as GPSBabel, and a number of free browser-based converters, handle this in one pass.
Going the other way, GPX to TCX, is less clean, because a converter has to invent lap boundaries that were never recorded — usually by treating the whole track as one lap. That brings back the verbosity of TCX without adding any real structure on top of it, so it rarely buys you anything for a walk that was one lap to begin with.
What TrailCam exports
TrailCam exports a recorded route as GPX 1.1 or as a CSV summary; it does not produce TCX. For a hike, GPX is the format that matches the shape of what actually happened — one continuous line from start to finish, not a set of laps — and it is the format every major mapping and route-planning tool is built to expect. Export is part of the optional TrailCam Pro upgrade; the app itself is free to download.
Questions
- Is TCX better than GPX for a hike?
- Not for a single continuous hike. TCX's main advantage is its lap structure, and a hike from trailhead to trailhead is normally one lap, so you gain nothing from it and end up with a more verbose file. GPX matches the shape of the activity more directly.
- Can I open a TCX file the same way as a GPX file?
- Both are plain XML text, so a text editor will show either one. For mapping and route-planning tools, GPX has far broader support; TCX is read natively by Garmin Connect and accepted more narrowly elsewhere.
- Does TrailCam export TCX?
- No. TrailCam exports GPX 1.1 or a CSV summary, which fit a continuous recorded route without needing lap data that was never part of the walk.
Recording your own routes
TrailCam is an iPhone app that records your route with GPS, keeps video clips, photos and voice notes pinned to the spot where you took them, and exports the result as GPX 1.1 or CSV. It is free to download.