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Trail map and route

When your stops have locations, the trail's overview page helps visitors find their way. This article explains what they see and how to control it.

What appears on the overview page​

The Route row Shows Route, the total distance and the walking time, for example Route · 2.4 km · 29 min walk. It has a link that opens the route:

  • Open in Google Maps — opens all located stops, in order, as a route in Google Maps. This needs at least two stops with a location.
  • Open trail map — appears instead when you fill in Trail map URL. It opens your own map link.

The route map A small map picture with the route and a numbered pin for each stop. It appears when at least two stops have a location.

Distance and time Distances are measured in a straight line between stops, in trail order. Walking time assumes 5 km/h. Real paths are often longer, so treat these as estimates.

Use your own trail map (Trail map URL)​

If your route follows real paths, for example in a park or on a hiking trail, you can link a map you made in another service:

  1. Create the route in AllTrails, Komoot or Google Maps (My Maps), and copy its share link.
  2. In QRForge, open the trail in the trail editor.
  3. Paste the link into Trail map URL (optional). It must start with https://.
  4. Click Save.

The Route row now says Open trail map and opens your link.

Directions between stops​

Each stop page shows Directions to the next stop, with an estimated walking time. It opens walking directions in Google Maps from the visitor's position. Both stops need a location for this.

Export the route as GPX​

GPX is a standard file for maps, GPS devices and hiking apps.

  1. In the left menu, click Trails.
  2. On the trail's row, click Download GPX route.
  3. Save the .gpx file. It contains every stop that has a location.

If no stop has a location yet, the button explains: "Add coordinates to a stop to export a GPX route".

Tips​

  • Add a location to every stop. Partial locations give partial distances.
  • Check the order. The route follows the order of the stops in the editor.
  • Test the Directions link on site, especially where paths are unusual.

Troubleshooting​

There is no route map on the overview page At least two stops need a location. See Stops and locations.

The distance looks too short Distances are straight lines between stops. Mention the real distance in the trail's Description, or link a real route with Trail map URL.

"Map URL must be a valid https:// link." Paste the full share link, starting with https://.

"GPX download is only available in the web app." Open QRForge in a web browser on a computer to download the file.