A great summit photo deserves more than just a caption. Overlaying your hike stats — elevation gained, distance covered, total time, the route you walked — transforms it from a snapshot into a record of the effort. Whether you're sharing on Instagram or just archiving the hike, a stats overlay tells the full story.

This guide shows you how to do it for free using Stamptivity, starting from any GPX-capable hiking app or GPS device.

What You'll Need

A GPX file from your hike
A photo (summit shot, landscape, trailhead, or any image from the hike)
A browser (desktop or mobile)

Step 1: Get Your GPX File

Most hiking apps and GPS devices can export GPX. Here's where to find it:

Komoot — Tap the completed tour → Share → Export GPX. (Detailed guide)

Strava — Open the activity → ⋯ → Export GPX. (Detailed guide)

Garmin Connect — Open activity → ⚙ → Export to GPX. (Detailed guide)

AllTrails — Recorded activities can be exported from your profile. Planned routes export as GPX from the route page.

Coros — Open activity in the app → Share → Export GPX. (Detailed guide)

Apple Watch — Use HealthFit or a similar app to export from Apple Health. (Detailed guide)

Step 2: Upload to Stamptivity Stamp

Go to Stamptivity Stamp and drop your .gpx file onto the upload zone.

Stamptivity reads your file entirely in the browser — nothing is sent to any server.

Click Open Editor to proceed.

Step 3: Choose the Hiker Template

In the Templates panel on the right, select Hiker. This template puts elevation first — the elevation profile chart takes a prominent position, with your distance, time, and elevation gain stacked above it.

Other templates also work for hiking:

Climb — emphasises elevation gain with a map in the middle and elevation chart at the bottom. Good for big mountain days.
Aero — full-canvas map with stats overlaid. Great if your route had a distinctive shape.

Step 4: Add Your Photo

Click the canvas background to upload your hike photo — the summit shot, a valley view, a waterfall, or whatever best represents the day. The photo becomes the background layer, with your stats overlaid on top.

Use the image overlay slider to darken the photo slightly if the stats are hard to read against bright skies or snow.

No photo? Export as a transparent PNG and composite it in any photo editor, or keep the dark gradient background that Stamptivity provides by default.

Step 5: Pick Your Stats

For hiking, the most relevant widgets are:

Distance — total trail length
Elevation — elevation gain (the key metric for most hikers)
Time — total or moving time
Elevation Chart — your elevation profile, showing climbs and descents over the route
Map — GPS route drawn on a topographic or satellite canvas
Heart Rate — if your device recorded it

Click any stat in the Elements panel to add it to the canvas. Drag to reposition.

Step 6: Set the Aspect Ratio

In the Canvas tab, choose your target platform:

4:5 or 1:1 — Instagram feed
9:16 — Instagram Stories or TikTok
16:9 — Twitter/X or YouTube thumbnail

Step 7: Export

Click Download JPG to save your finished image, or Download PNG for a transparent overlay.

Tips

Hiking often involves significant elevation gain — make the elevation widget large and prominent, it's what people want to see.
For multi-day hikes split across several files, merge them first using Stamptivity Merge, then load the combined GPX into Stamp.
The map widget looks best for hikes with a distinctive loop or out-and-back shape. Enable satellite or terrain tiles for mountain routes.
AllTrails planned routes (not recorded) export as GPX too — you can create a preview card for an upcoming hike, though stats will reflect planned distance rather than recorded data.

How to Add Stats to Your Hiking Photo — Distance, Elevation, and Route Map