Strava guides 4 MIN READ
Move Strava activities and routes to Garmin Connect
Routes sync from Strava to a Garmin by starring them. Activities do not sync backwards — they go by file, one at a time. Here is which is which, and the steps for both.
The Garmin–Strava link runs mostly one way. Garmin Connect sends every activity to Strava the moment the watch syncs; that is why most people's Strava exists at all. Getting things back the other way depends on what you are moving.
Routes: star them, and they sync
This is the part Strava built. Once Garmin Connect and Strava are linked:
- Open the route in Strava — My Routes on the website, or the Maps tab or your profile in the app.
- Tap the star (save) icon so it turns orange. If it was already starred, Strava says to unstar it and star it again.
- Sync the device with the Garmin Connect app or Garmin Express.
The route appears in the Courses folder on the Garmin. Two limits from Strava's support article: routes must be under 600 miles, and Live Segments will not fire while you follow a course — that is a device limitation, not a setting.
If it does not show up, Strava's own order of checks is: look for the course in Garmin Connect first; if it is there, sync the device; if it is not, unstar, star again, sync again.
Activities: they go by file
Strava does not send activities to Garmin Connect. There is no sync to enable and no setting you have missed. If you recorded with the Strava app, or moved from another watch, and you want the history in Garmin Connect, it is an import — one file at a time.
- On strava.com, open the activity, more menu, Export Original. For an activity that came from a device this returns the FIT file exactly as it was recorded. For one recorded by the Strava app, Export GPX is the file you have.
- In Garmin Connect on the web, use the import (upload) function and pick the file. Garmin Connect accepts FIT, GPX and TCX.
For a whole history, the bulk export gives you every activity in one zip, mostly as `.fit.gz` — the original files, compressed. Unzip them and import. It is tedious for hundreds of activities, but it is the only route, and it preserves everything the device recorded.
The thing people actually want
Most searches for "Strava to Garmin" are one of two wishes: a route on the device for tomorrow, or the history in one place. The first is a star and a sync. The second is a bulk export and an afternoon.
There is a third case: you want the ride on the wall, not in another app. That needs neither Garmin Connect nor a sync — export the activity, or connect the account, and the configurator draws it in the browser. Which file to export is covered in Export Original, GPX or TCX; the route-versus-activity distinction, which matters here, in export a Strava route.
Elevation will differ between the two
If you compare the same ride in Garmin Connect and on Strava, the elevation gain will not match. Neither is wrong; they correct the barometer differently. Why Strava and Garmin disagree about elevation explains it, and which number ends up on a print.
Questions people actually ask
- Does Strava export to Garmin Connect?
- Routes, yes: a starred Strava route syncs to your Garmin's Courses folder once the accounts are linked. Activities, no: Strava does not push activities into Garmin Connect. Those go by exporting the file from Strava and importing it in Garmin Connect.
- How do I get a Strava route onto my Garmin watch or Edge?
- Link Garmin Connect and Strava, star the route in Strava, then sync the device with the Garmin Connect app or Garmin Express. Strava says the route appears in the Courses folder on the device.
- Can I export my Strava history to Garmin Connect?
- Not automatically. Export each activity from Strava (Export Original gives the FIT the device made) and use Garmin Connect's import. For a whole history, the bulk export gives you every file at once — but the import is still per file.
- Why does the route not show up on my Garmin?
- Strava's own troubleshooting: check the Courses folder in Garmin Connect first. If it is there, sync the device again. If it is not, unstar the route, star it again, and sync. Routes over 600 miles are not synced.
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