How to record a walking route on a phone
Walking route recording is useful for field reconnaissance, not only fitness.
Field takeaways
- A walking route is a time-ordered GPS track.
- It is useful for distance, duration, notes and KML sharing.
- Trees, valleys and buildings can reduce accuracy.
- Choose the project and layer before recording.
- MapLab Survey exports routes to KML/KMZ, GeoJSON or CSV.
Where a recorded track earns its keep
Streams, roads, footpaths, power lines, irrigation lines, parcel perimeters, mine site tours, forest reconnaissance and daily site rounds. A track shows which line the crew actually followed and its approximate length. Record on the way in, not the way back: route decisions are made on the outbound trip, and a track started at the main road captures the real path with no extra effort.
Step by step in MapLab Survey
- Open the project and pick a layer such as "route" or "recon line".
- Start the GPS track recording.
- Add photos or notes at the important turns.
- Check the distance and the line when you stop.
- Share as KML/KMZ, or send GeoJSON/DXF to the office.
Mark the decisions
Drop a waypoint wherever you hesitated, at gates, and at sections a vehicle cannot pass — those points carry more value than the line itself. Width, surface and gradient decide whether a vehicle or machine can follow you later, so a short note at the difficult sections saves a wasted trip.
Why the length can be wrong
Phone GPS does not produce a perfect point every second; under trees and in narrow valleys the track jumps sideways, and the zigzag inflates the distance. For professional work, clean the line at the office and check the critical sections with RTK or a suitable survey method.
Share it as a file
Export the track as KML and send it with the notes. A route described over the phone is forgotten; a file with waypoints is not.
Try these steps on your own phone.
MapLab Survey handles RTK/GNSS point capture, drawing, area and volume calculations and coordinate conversion, then exports to DXF, KML/KMZ, GeoJSON, Shapefile, GeoPackage, NCZ or CSV. Capture, calculation and export work offline. Live NTRIP corrections and online basemaps need a connection.
Frequently asked questions
Can routes export as KML?
Yes.
Is route distance exact?
Good for reconnaissance, but GPS conditions affect it.
Can it work offline?
Recording can work offline.
Can a route measure area?
Only if it forms a closed polygon boundary.
Technical references
The field guidance in this article is aligned with the technical and official references below.
Related: GPS track recording · Offline field surveying · Open KML file · MapLab Survey