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Elevation Profiles

Elevation profiles are an important part of planning a backcountry trip. They show how much climbing and descending a trail, route, or track involves, and where.

How to view an elevation profile

  1. Tap a trail, route, or track on the map.

  2. Tap Profile.

    The Profile button in the sheet for a trailThe Profile button in the sheet for a trail

    The elevation profile opens below the map.

    An elevation profile for a route, fit to the width of the screen, with waypoints and POIs marked along itAn elevation profile for a route, fit to the width of the screen, with waypoints and POIs marked along it

Scrub and select

Switch modes with the control at the bottom of the profile:

  • Scrub (the hand icon): touch or drag anywhere on the profile. A bubble shows the distance, elevation, gain, and loss from the start to that point, and a dot on the map marks the spot.

    Scrubbing along a scrolling elevation profile, with the distance, elevation, gain, and loss for that point
    Shown on iPhone — Android looks slightly different.

  • Select a range (the arrows icon): drag the two crosshairs to see the distance, gain, and loss for that section, plus the elevation at each end. This is helpful for planning a specific section of the route.

    A section of an elevation profile selected between two crosshairs, showing its distance, gain, loss, and the elevations at each end
    Shown on iPhone — Android looks slightly different.

On a recorded track, use the picker above the profile to show Elevation, Time, Speed, or All.

Choose what shows on the profile

Tap the … button on the profile and, under Show on Profile, turn Waypoints, POIs, Junctions, High & Low, or Photos on or off. These help you see distances at, or between, different points along the trail. The same choices apply to Trail Segments for that trail.

The profile's menu with Show on Profile, Refresh Elevations, and Scroll Profile
Shown on iPhone — Android looks slightly different.

The same menu has two more options:

  • Refresh Elevations recomputes a saved route's elevations. Tap Recompute to confirm.
  • Snap Profile to Edges and Scroll Profile appear for profiles longer than 15 miles (24 km). Snap Profile to Edges fits the whole profile on the screen, as in the first picture above. Scroll Profile goes back to a zoomed-in profile you can scroll sideways, as in the scrubbing picture. The menu shows whichever one you aren't using.

Scrubbing and selection modes

Switch between two modes using the icons in the top-right corner of the profile:

  • Scrubbing mode: tap or drag anywhere on the profile to see quick metrics for that point. A green dot on the map marks the spot you're looking at.

    Scrubbing along an elevation profile, with distance, elevation, gain, and loss for that point
    Shown on Android — iPhone looks slightly different.

  • Selection mode: view metrics for the section of the route between two crosshairs. This is helpful for planning a specific section of the route.

    A section of an elevation profile selected between two crosshairs, showing its distance, gain, loss, and the elevations at each end
    Shown on Android — iPhone looks slightly different.

Filter what shows on the profile

Above the profile are filter chips you can turn on or off:

  • Waypoints
  • POIs
  • Junctions
  • High & Low points

These help you see distances at, or between, different points along the trail.

Other elevation profiles

  • A straight line between points: use the measuring tool and tap Profile.
  • Between your own waypoints: create a route in Manual snap mode, tapping on each waypoint (see Creating a Route), then tap the route and tap Profile.create a route with the Connecting Waypoints method (see Creating a Route), then tap the route and tap Profile.
  • What you can see from a point: Line of Sight shows a profile with the visible areas highlighted.

Updated October 7, 2026

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