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Sample GPX file: Slickrock mountain bike loop, Moab

24.6 km · +799 m gain · 1 h 44 m · 1,500 trackpoints

A 25 km mountain bike loop on the Slickrock Trail above Moab, Utah — variable pace across sandstone climbs and descents. Off-road profile test data.

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About this route

A loop on the legendary Slickrock Trail above Moab, Utah — exposed sandstone slabs at 1,700 m elevation overlooking the Colorado River gorge. The trail is famous for its grippy surface (Navajo sandstone provides exceptional traction even on steep faces) and for its full-body workout: Slickrock has very little flat terrain, alternating between sustained climbs up sandstone fins and steep technical drops into the bowls between them.

The 24.6 km loop covers the practice loop and the main loop in one continuous ride. Cumulative climbing is 799 m — modest by alpine standards, but the gradient profile is anything but smooth: many sections exceed 20%, and the constant up-and-down pattern is more fatiguing than a single sustained climb of equivalent vertical.

What this file demonstrates

An off-road file with extreme pace variability — 4 km/h on the technical sandstone climbs, 25 km/h on the rolling fins, occasional stops at viewpoints. Useful for testing apps that need to handle wide pace ranges, stops mid-track, and irregular elevation profiles where conventional climb detection (continuous gain over distance) breaks down.

Two waypoints: the trailhead at Sand Flats Recreation Area and the high overlook at the eastern edge of the loop. The file is a useful comparison case to the road-cycling-50km sample — similar distance, very different terrain shape.

Notes on the data

1,500 trackpoints across 1 hour 44 minutes of moving time. The recording cadence is 1 second smart, so trackpoint density is higher on the slow technical climbs (one every 4-6 metres) and lower on the faster fin sections (one every 20-25 metres).

Elevation is SRTM-sourced and noise-modelled to reflect a barometric altimeter reading on a hot day (Moab summer baseline). No sensor extensions in this file. The route is plausible for the named area but is synthetic — do not use it for navigation.

Common questions about this sample

Is this the actual Slickrock Trail?

The route shape follows the practice loop and main loop on Slickrock, but the trackpoints don't trace the painted route line exactly. The Slickrock Trail is marked with painted dashes on the sandstone, not with conventional trail signs; following the actual route requires reading the paint. Synthetic GPX is not a substitute for that. For real Slickrock navigation, the BLM publishes a trail map and the route is well-documented on Trailforks.

Why are trackpoints denser on climbs and sparser on descents?

Smart-recording cadence. On the slow technical climbs (4 km/h), the recorder produces one trackpoint every 4-6 metres; on the faster fin sections (25 km/h), one trackpoint every 20-25 metres. Fixed-1-second recording would be uniform but would also bloat the file. Smart recording is what most modern Garmin and Wahoo head units default to.

Will this file confuse climb-detection algorithms?

Yes, intentionally. Slickrock terrain is alternating up-and-down across sandstone fins, not sustained climbs and descents. Algorithms that detect climbs by 'continuous gain over distance' will misclassify many of the steeper-than-5% sections as climbs even though they're 30-50 metre features. This is a useful stress test for the 'is this a Cat-3 climb?' kind of logic.

Can I use this file to test pace-variation rendering?

Yes — pace varies from about 4 km/h on the technical climbs to 25 km/h on the fast fin sections, with brief stops at viewpoints (zero pace, several seconds). Apps that color-code the route by pace, or that plot pace-vs-distance, will exercise their full range. Apps that average pace incorrectly (using elapsed time instead of moving time) will produce wildly different numbers from a 'right' calculation.

What's the elevation noise model in this file?

Barometric altimeter on a hot day in Moab — meaning the sensor drifts with surface temperature. The simulated noise is asymmetric: more positive drift during the climbing sections (sun on the sandstone, hotter pressure readings) and quieter on the descents into shaded bowls. Real Moab summer recordings show this same pattern. Total cumulative gain (799 m) ends up close to the geometric truth despite the noise; rolling-average smoothing eliminates most of the jitter without losing real terrain features.

Download mountain-biking.gpx239.4 KB · public domain (CC0)

What's inside this file

  • Trackpoints: 1,500
  • Waypoints: 2
  • Tracks: 1
  • Distance: 24.6 km
  • Elevation gain: 799 m
  • Activity duration: 1 h 44 m
  • Extensions: none
  • File size: 239.4 KB
  • Format: GPX 1.1 (topografix.com/GPX/1/1)
View as raw XML (first 30 lines)
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<gpx version="1.1" creator="viewmygpx-samples" xmlns="http://www.topografix.com/GPX/1/1">
  <metadata>
    <name>Slickrock Trail — Moab</name>
    <desc>Iconic 25 km mountain bike loop on the slickrock above Moab, Utah, with steep technical climbs and exposed sandstone descents.</desc>
    <author>
      <name>viewmygpx samples</name>
    </author>
    <bounds minlat="38.561692136480815" minlon="-109.56430784236869" maxlat="38.61240912870156" maxlon="-109.44555330332248"/>
  </metadata>
  <wpt lat="38.5733" lon="-109.5345">
    <ele>1428</ele>
    <name>Sand Flats trailhead</name>
    <sym>Parking</sym>
  </wpt>
  <wpt lat="38.6" lon="-109.481">
    <ele>1680</ele>
    <name>Slickrock viewpoint</name>
    <sym>Scenic Area</sym>
  </wpt>
  <trk>
    <name>Slickrock loop</name>
    <type>mountain biking</type>
    <trkseg>
      <trkpt lat="38.561692136480815" lon="-109.56427487834993">
        <ele>1426.9395912594628</ele>
        <time>2025-04-19T09:45:00.000Z</time>
      </trkpt>
      <trkpt lat="38.56176001378107" lon="-109.5641363502582">
        <ele>1428.878904502488</ele>

How to use this file

Test a GPX parser. Drop the file into your code, library, or app under development to verify it handles real-world data — distance, elevation, timestamps, waypoints. The point counts and stats above give you expected outputs to compare against.

Demo content for tutorials. Use the file as a stand-in for a real user upload when recording screenshots, writing documentation, or filming product walkthroughs. The file is public domain, so no attribution is needed in your materials.

Test platform integrations. Upload the file to Strava, Garmin Connect, Komoot, or AllTrails to confirm your import flow works end-to-end. The route is plausible but unattached to any user account, so it won't appear in anyone's feed.

Drop your own file too. The embedded viewer above accepts any .gpx file. Use it to compare your file's structure against this sample, or simply to view your route without leaving the page.

License and attribution

This file is released under Creative Commons Zero (CC0) — public domain. You may use it for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, with no attribution required.

The route is synthetic. Coordinates are plausible for the named region but do not trace any specific real-world trail, road, or ride. Use the file freely as test data; do not navigate by it.

More sample files

Browse the full set of 12 samples on the sample GPX files page, or jump to one of the related files below.