What Is a KMZ File?

A KMZ file is a ZIP archive containing a KML file (Google Earth's format), usually bundled with icons or images. It's the default format Google Earth and Google My Maps use when exporting a map, which is why it shows up so often when someone shares a route they built in those tools.

Why convert KMZ to GPX?

Most consumer GPS apps (Garmin, Wahoo, OsmAnd, Locus Map, Strava…) read GPX natively but not KMZ. If you've received or exported a .kmz file and want to use it on a GPS device, you first need to extract the KML and then convert it to GPX.

Converting a KMZ to GPX

Use our free KMZ → GPX converter: the file is processed entirely in your browser (archive extraction and KML conversion included). It never leaves your device.

What to know

A real KMZ archive almost always contains a single doc.kml file at its root; that's the one our tool automatically picks up. Any images or icons bundled in the archive aren't preserved, since GPX has no equivalent slot for that kind of content.