This website contains hundreds of downloadable .gpx files for the benefit and enjoyment of the motorcycling public. Most NER files are exported from a standardized Garmin Basecamp database, and contain GPS data reflecting our “Best of” listings as well as all the wonderful scouted day-rides.
What’s in a GPX File? GPX files are just text files that are structured in a universal format, in order to exchange sets of GPS coordinates with other people. A GPX file may contain a single waypoint, or hundreds of waypoints, routes, and tracks.
NER publishes two general types of GPX downloads:
Route Elements GPX Downloads
For NER purposes, the term route elements includes:
- Road Segments,
- Restaurants,
- Hotels,
- Scenic Views,
- Attractions,
- Campgrounds, and
- Unpaved Roads.
Route elements make up the NER listings for Best of NorthEast, Best of Appalachia, and beyond. For each state/locale, there is a download link for GPX files for each type of route element, e.g. “MA Roads”, “MA ScenicViews”, “RI Roads”, etc.
The Road elements are navigable route segments when imported into Basecamp or a GPS, and are generally meant to be incorporated into a longer route to create a full day-ride.
The Unpaved elements are GPS tracks, meaning they can be transferred and viewed on GPS devices, but without navigation prompts. This format ensures the GPS doesn’t try to recalculate the path using “Fastest” or “Shortest” algorithms, which are meant to follow paved roadways.
The other route element types GPX files simply contain waypoints of those locations.
Day-Ride GPX Downloads
The GPX files for NER full-day Rides contain one or more versions of the route, to make it easier for a greater number of riders to quickly download and use the route. We have adopted the following naming scheme for the route versions within NER GPX files.
- “Hocking Hills Ride”: Name of basic “via point” route.
- “Hocking Hills Ride – SHP”: Name of shaping version of route.
- “TRK – Hocking Hills Ride”: Name of GPS Track version of the route.
Not every Ride will include multiple versions. In Basecamp, be sure to set your data filter to ‘Show all user data’ on the List you import into, to see everything included in the file.
Basic “Via Point” Route – This is the basic route, created using standard waypoints and via points (that announce upon reaching each one). Older Garmin devices (Zumo 665 and prior) can handle these. Some mobile navigation apps also require this style, as they don’t recognize via points.
“Shaping” Route – This is the same route with most of the via points converted to shaping points (which don’t announce arrival). This allows complex routes to be used on current generation Garmin devices that suffer a 29 via-point-per-route limit. Riders also prefer these who don’t want to hear every intermediate waypoint announcement, or who want to see “Distance to Via” on their device as the next important stop.
Track – Many NER Ride files include a GPS track of the route, to cater to riders using certain mobile GPS applications. A track is a breadcrumb trail, composed of many GPS coordinate sets forming a path to follow, rather than “snapping” the path to follow road map data.
Multiple Legs – Some of our Rides are split into two legs, to help riders with older GPS devices avoid confusion where a route crosses itself, or for routes containing more standard waypoints than some newer devices can handle in a single route.
Combining the route versions into one GPX file per Ride makes your choice simple re what to download, and allows you to use whichever version you wish to use after importing the file into your mapping software/app of choice.