How to Plan Garmin Routes on Mac Without BaseCamp

Export Your BaseCamp Library

Open Garmin BaseCamp on your Mac. In the sidebar, you'll see your collection organised into lists and folders. Select the items you want to export — you can do this per-list or select everything.

1. Click on a list or folder in the sidebar, or press ⌘A to select all items within it.
2. Go to File → Export → Export Selection.
3. Choose GPX as the file format. This is the universal GPS data format that every planning tool understands.
4. Pick a folder on your Mac and save. Name the file after the list so you can find it later — for example, alps-hiking-2024.gpx.
5. Repeat for each list or folder you want to keep.

Create a dedicated folder (something like ~/Documents/GPS-Routes) and keep all your exported GPX files there. This becomes your portable route library — it works with any tool, on any platform, forever.

Choose a Route-Planning Tool

With your GPX files saved, you need somewhere to plan new routes and edit existing ones. There are two broad options: web-based tools and native Mac apps.

Web-based tools

• Garmin Explore — Garmin's own web planner. Free, syncs directly to Garmin Connect and your device. Decent for basic route creation, but it's slow and lacks advanced editing like via-point reordering.
• Komoot — Popular with hikers and cyclists. Good auto-routing and surface-type data. Free for one region; full maps require a one-time purchase. Exports to GPX.
• RideWithGPS — Strong for cycling routes with cue-sheet generation and elevation profiles. Free tier available; premium unlocks offline maps and advanced features.

Web tools work anywhere, but they depend on a browser — no offline use, and performance suffers with complex routes or large GPX files.

Native Mac app

• Trailshelf — A native macOS app built specifically as a BaseCamp replacement. Apple Silicon native, uses Apple MapKit, supports GPX import/export, via-point routing with OpenRouteService, and runs entirely on your Mac with no browser required.

A native app gives you the speed and offline reliability that BaseCamp users are used to. If you're planning multi-day trips with dozens of routes, the difference is noticeable.

Import Your GPX Files

Once you've picked your tool, bring your exported routes in.

In Trailshelf:

1. Open Trailshelf on your Mac.
2. Drag and drop your GPX files directly onto the app window, or go to File → Import GPX.
3. Your routes, tracks and waypoints appear in the sidebar, organised by the names in the GPX file.
4. Routes show up on the map immediately — click any one to see its path, elevation profile and details.

In web tools: most have an "Import" or "Upload GPX" button. Garmin Explore has this under Library → Import. Komoot lets you drag a GPX file onto the route planner page. RideWithGPS has a dedicated import page.

One thing to watch: BaseCamp exports can include both routes (turn-by-turn navigable paths) and tracks (recorded breadcrumb trails). Some web tools treat these differently, or only import one type. Trailshelf imports both.

Plan New Routes

This is where the fun starts. Creating a route without BaseCamp follows the same basic pattern — click points on a map, and let auto-routing fill in the roads or trails between them.

In Trailshelf:

1. Click the + button or use File → New Route.
2. Click on the map to place your starting point.
3. Click again to add via points — the app automatically calculates the route between each pair of points using OpenRouteService.
4. Choose your routing profile: hiking, cycling, or driving. The routing engine uses different road and trail networks for each.
5. Need to insert a via point in the middle of an existing route? Click directly on the route line — a new point appears right where you clicked, and the route recalculates around it.
6. Drag via points to adjust the route. The path updates in real time.

The key concept is via points, not waypoints. A via point shapes the route — "go through here on the way" — while a waypoint is just a pin on the map. For Garmin navigation, via points are what create the turn-by-turn directions your device follows.

Export and Transfer to Your Garmin

Once your route is ready, getting it onto your Garmin device takes two steps: export and copy.

Export the route:

1. In Trailshelf, select the route in the sidebar.
2. Go to File → Export GPX (or right-click the route and choose Export GPX).
3. Save the file somewhere you can find it — your Desktop or GPS-Routes folder works fine.

Transfer to your Garmin:

1. Connect your Garmin device to your Mac using a USB cable.
2. The device should appear in Finder as a removable drive (e.g., "GARMIN").
3. Open the drive and look for the Garmin folder, then NewFiles inside it. If NewFiles doesn't exist, create it.
4. Copy your exported GPX file into Garmin/NewFiles/.
5. Safely eject the device. On next boot, the Garmin processes the GPX file and the route appears in your route list, ready for navigation.

Some newer Garmin devices (like the Edge series) also support wireless transfer via Garmin Connect. Upload the GPX to Garmin Explore on the web, sync your device, and the route appears automatically.