Strava Art

Free Strava Art Generator Online for GPS Drawings

Draw My Loop is a free Strava art generator that lets runners and cyclists sketch a shape on a map, then follow that shape with a GPS watch so the recorded activity traces the drawing on Strava. The workflow is short: pick or draw a shape (a heart, a cat, the Strava logo if you're feeling meta), let the editor snap the outline to real streets using OpenStreetMap data, export a GPX, and import it into Strava via Routes → Create Route → Import GPX. From there a Garmin Forerunner, Wahoo ELEMNT, Coros Apex or Apple Watch (via WorkOutDoors) can sync the course and guide the activity turn by turn. No sign-up. No install. If you've ever scrolled past a dog-shaped run on the Strava feed, this is the tool that probably made it less painful to plan.

Create my Strava art

How to create Strava art?

To create Strava art, draw a shape on a map, turn it into a GPX route, follow that route with Strava or a GPS watch, then save your activity.

Draw My Loop automates the hard part: snapping to real roads, GPX export and compatibility with Strava, Garmin, Komoot, Suunto and Coros.

Draw My Loop Strava art generator preview

Free Strava Art Generator Online

Draw My Loop is a free Strava art generator that works entirely online — no app to download, no account to create. Open the Studio in your browser, design your Strava art, and export a GPX file ready to import into Strava.

Unlike other GPS art tools, Draw My Loop is built specifically for creating Strava art: our shape library, text projection, and road-snapping algorithm are optimized for producing clean, recognizable drawings on the Strava map. It's the easiest Strava drawing generator available.

What is Strava Art?

Strava art is a form of GPS art specifically designed to be shared on Strava. By following a planned route, the GPS track of your activity forms a drawing visible on your Strava profile — a heart for Valentine's Day, a tree for Christmas, or a portrait of your favorite animal. It's also called GPS drawing, running art or Strava drawing.

The Strava art community is growing rapidly. Thousands of athletes worldwide create and share their artwork using hashtags #stravaart, #gpsart and #runningart. It's a creative way to stay motivated, surprise your followers, and join a global movement of GPS artists.

How to Make Strava Art with Draw My Loop

Draw your artwork

Open the Draw My Loop Studio and choose a shape from the 50+ library or draw freehand. Position your design on the neighborhood where you want to run or ride. You can also type text or import an image.

Export as GPX

Click "Export GPX" to download your route file. Our algorithm has already snapped your drawing to real roads — the route is ready to follow. No manual adjustments needed.

Import into Strava

In Strava, go to Routes > Create Route > Import. Upload your GPX file. You can then send the route to your GPS watch or follow it via the Strava app on your phone.

Run and share

Follow the route and admire your Strava art on your activity map. Share it with your followers and use hashtags #stravaart and #gpsart to join the community.

Strava Art Tips for Beginners

Choose the right neighborhood

Residential areas with grid-pattern streets offer more possibilities for creating Strava art. Avoid highways and industrial zones where roads are limited.

Start with simple Strava art

A heart or star is the best first Strava art project. Closed shapes are easier to recognize even if the trace isn't perfect — ideal for beginners.

Check the elevation

Review the elevation profile in the Studio before heading out. A surprise 200m climb can ruin your run! Planning GPS art includes checking the terrain.

Polish your sharing

Give your Strava activity a descriptive title and add a screenshot of your planned route for comparison. This is how the best Strava art gets noticed.

Best Strava Art Ideas

Seasonal art

A Christmas tree in December, a heart for Valentine's Day, a pumpkin for Halloween — seasonal Strava art gets the most engagement and is a great way to celebrate holidays with your running community. These are among the easiest Strava art projects to start with.

Personal milestones

Birthday numbers, anniversary dates, or a name for a newborn — creating Strava art turns your workout into a memorable keepsake you can screenshot and frame. The most shareable GPS drawings on Strava are personal ones.

Challenge art

Create a series — draw a different animal each week, spell out a word across multiple runs, or trace your city's landmarks. Serialized Strava art builds a following and keeps you motivated throughout the year.

Real Strava art examples

Use public routes created with Draw My Loop as inspiration, with route preview, city, distance, activity and a link to the GPX route page.

Tour de France à Paris

Paris, France

Running33.1 kmFrance map

214

Circle. 2026. Mixed surfaces Gravel track - Nord

Anstaing, France

Cycling118.7 kmCircle

Rhyno Run 🦏

Rio de Mouro, Portugal

Running10.0 kmRhinoceros

Explore more public examples

Strava art vs Strava's Route Builder

You can technically make Strava art with Strava's own Route Builder, but almost nobody does it twice. The built-in tool is great for linking two cafés or tracing a riverside path — it was never designed for drawing a dog. Everything is point-to-point: you click a street, then the next, the router fills in the connections. Drawing a recognisable shape that way means clicking hundreds of waypoints by hand, and if the proportions drift you start again.

Draw My Loop approaches the same routing problem from the opposite direction. Instead of picking streets, you draw the shape and the algorithm finds the closest real roads that honour the outline. A heart that used to take 40 minutes in the Strava builder fits in under two minutes here, exports as GPX, and imports back into Strava via Routes → Create Route → Import. Same result on the activity map, without the repetitive-strain-injury planning session.

What runners like Lenny Maughan taught us

Lenny Maughan is the San Francisco runner who turned his weekend easy runs into city-wide portraits — Frida Kahlo, Stan Laurel, the Vitruvian Man, a full ballerina — all visible on Strava. He plans his routes by hand. So do most of the well-known GPS artists. There is a slow-craft side to GPS art that sits very comfortably in front of a paper map for three hours, working out which blocks form a workable jawline.

What his work shows, beyond the fact that you can genuinely run a 45 km cat, is that the neighbourhoods with a mix of orthogonal and diagonal streets — Nob Hill in San Francisco, the 11th arrondissement in Paris, the West Village in New York — tend to produce the cleanest GPS drawings. Dense grids suit simple geometry; messier street networks carry faces and animals better. Draw My Loop won't replace a creative eye. It just cuts the planning loop from an afternoon to a couple of minutes.

Join the Strava Art Community

The Strava art community is thriving worldwide. Thousands of athletes share their creations using hashtags like #stravaart, #gpsart, #runningart and #cyclingart. Following these hashtags on Instagram and Strava is the best way to discover ideas and inspiration for your next Strava art route.

With Draw My Loop, you can also explore and share routes with other creators. Save your strongest Strava art, make them public, and inspire others in the community.

Strava Art Generator FAQ

Is this Strava art generator really free?

Yes — Draw My Loop is a 100% free Strava art generator. The full Studio (drawing, shape library, road snapping, text projection, GPX export) works without an account. There is no trial, no paywall on the export, and no Strava subscription is required to import the GPX into your Strava routes. Free Strava art generation is the default behaviour — the only paid feature is the optional Auto-Fit credits, which you never need to create or export Strava art.

Do I need a Strava subscription for Strava art?

No. GPX file import works with the free Strava account. You don't need Strava Summit or any paid subscription to create and share Strava art.

How do I make Strava art?

Open Draw My Loop's free Strava art generator, draw or pick a shape, let the algorithm snap it to real roads, export as GPX, and import into Strava. The whole process takes under 5 minutes.

Does Strava art work for cycling too?

Absolutely! The Strava art generator works for running, cycling and even walking. Draw My Loop supports both pedestrian and cyclist routing profiles.

Can I create Strava art on my phone?

Yes. Draw My Loop is an online Strava art tool that works on any mobile browser. Create your route, export the GPX and import it into the Strava app on the same phone — no separate app needed.

Why use Draw My Loop for Strava art?

Draw My Loop is a complete free Strava art generator: visual drawing editor, 50+ shape library, automatic road snapping, text projection, and instant GPX export — all designed specifically for creating GPS art on Strava.

How do I import a GPX file into Strava?

In Strava, go to Routes > Create Route > Import GPX/TCX file. Upload the file exported from Draw My Loop. You can then send the route to your GPS watch or follow it directly in the Strava app.

What's the difference between Strava art and GPS art?

Strava art is GPS art shared specifically on Strava. GPS art is the broader term for any route drawing made with a GPS device. Draw My Loop is both a Strava art generator and a GPS art generator — the GPX files work everywhere.

What are the easiest Strava art shapes for beginners?

Hearts, stars and smiley faces are the best simple Strava art for beginners. They use basic geometric shapes that look great even on imperfect street grids, and typically cover just 5-10 km.