Get your Google Maps list into Google Earth

You built a list in Google Maps, and now you want to see it in Google Earth, maybe for the bigger screen, the 3D terrain view, the historical imagery slider, or just because it looks better for sharing with someone who isn't going to click through a Maps list link. The problem is Google Maps and Google Earth don't talk to each other directly, even though they're both made by Google, there's no button in Maps that says "open this in Earth."

What you actually need is a small file that Google Earth knows how to read. Its technical name is KML, but you don't need to remember that to use it. Paste your list's share link into the converter above and MapsLinkQuest builds that file for you automatically, right in your browser. Nothing to install, no account to create. Each place from your original list becomes a placemark, name and position intact, and Google Earth also reads KMZ, a zipped-up KML, if a tool you're passing the file through elsewhere expects that instead, though the plain KML this tool produces opens directly with nothing extra. What happens next depends on whether you're opening it on the web, in Google Earth Pro, or trying it on a phone, covered one at a time below.

Web (earth.google.com):

1. Go to earth.google.com in any browser.
2. Click New, then Open local KML file.
3. Select the file you downloaded.

You don't need to be signed in to do this. Google's own documentation puts the ceiling at 10,000 features per file, far more than MapsLinkQuest's own waypoint caps ever produce, so this never becomes the limiting factor. One thing worth knowing: a local file opened this way lives in that browser's own storage, not a Drive-based Earth Project, so it only shows up on the device where you opened it, not automatically on your other devices.

Google Earth Pro (desktop):

1. Open Google Earth Pro.
2. File → Open, and pick the KML file, or just drag the file straight onto the globe or the Places panel.
3. It lands under Temporary Places in the Places panel on the left. If that panel isn't visible, turn it on from the View menu.
4. Check the box next to the imported folder, and any items under it, to display the pins.

Temporary Places is exactly that, temporary. It disappears when you close the app unless you drag the imported folder into My Places first, then run File → Save → Save My Places before quitting. Moving it to My Places doesn't touch the original KML file, if you want a separate saved copy, right-click the folder and choose Save Place As.

Mobile (iOS and Android):

Worth being straightforward here rather than guessing: Google's own documentation describes the local-KML-import feature as something that lives in browser storage, and doesn't spell out the same steps for the native mobile app the way it does for web and desktop. In practice, that matches what a lot of users report, opening a local KML file directly inside the Google Earth phone app isn't as straightforward as it is on the web. The reliable option on a phone is to open earth.google.com in your phone's own browser and use the same New → Open local KML file steps as the desktop web version, that's a browser feature, not a native-app one, so it works the same way on mobile Safari or Chrome. If you specifically need it inside the native app rather than a mobile browser tab, importing on a computer first and syncing through a Drive-based Earth Project is the more dependable path. Either way, the file itself doesn't change, it's the same KML MapsLinkQuest produced, the difference is only in which Google Earth surface actually reads a local file cleanly.

Import paths, at a glance:

• Web (earth.google.com): New → Open local KML file, no sign-in needed
• Google Earth Pro (desktop): File → Open, or drag onto the globe or Places panel
• Mobile browser (phone): same earth.google.com steps as desktop web, works in Safari or Chrome
• Native mobile app: not the reliable path for a local file, use the mobile browser instead

Troubleshooting:

• The pins showed up, but they vanished after I closed the app. On Google Earth Pro, an import lands in Temporary Places by default, which doesn't survive a restart. Drag it into My Places and save before closing to keep it.
• The Google Earth phone app won't take the file. Expected, local KML import isn't the native app's strong suit. Open earth.google.com in your phone's browser instead and use the same New → Open local KML file option the desktop web version uses.
• I imported it on my laptop, now it's not on my phone. A local KML file opened through New → Open local KML file stays in that one browser's storage, it isn't synced anywhere. Syncing across devices means turning it into a Drive-based Earth Project instead of a local file.
• Nothing happens when I try to drag the file onto Google Earth Pro. Use File → Open instead, drag-and-drop onto the globe can be finicky depending on your OS and window focus.
• I can't find the Places panel to see what imported. It's off by default in some window layouts. Turn it on from the View menu in Google Earth Pro.
• The import seemed to work but nothing's visible on the globe. Check that the checkbox next to the imported folder, and any sub-items, is actually checked. An unchecked folder imports fine but stays hidden.
• Is there a size limit I should worry about? Google Earth's own cap is 10,000 features per file. A MapsLinkQuest list would need to be enormous, well past any of its own tier limits, to get anywhere close to that, so this almost never turns into an actual problem in practice.