Hiking GPS off by several miles

I have read other forums where peoples GPS was off by miles but they all seemed to be near water. Someone was saying they were off by .3 miles and were upset (I would kill to be that accurate :) My GPS shows ridiculous routes that are adding miles onto my trip. There are very large, linear paths that go a half mile in one direction and then back (creating a triangular point). Other times there are multiple small, chaotic paths created. Attached are pictures of recent hikes. One hike was almost 3 miles longer than multiple other devices I was hiking with. (The jagged lines add milage with the very large line at the top). The last picture shows the trail in green and my inaccurate path in red. Any suggestions would be great. (I changed my watch settings to auto pause when stopped and chose to use 2 satellites).

  • I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like this in all the years I've had a GPS enabled Garmin watch, and going back further, to my Navman GPS that was linked to a Timex watch back in 2004. 

    If all these are with auto pause on, I'd start by turning that off. Connect to Garmin Express and check everything is updated. Check what GPS version you have. Get a good GPS soak before you go out next time.

    Contact Garmin Support as you might have a defective watch.

  • Thank you for the responses and feedback. The attached photos were with auto pause off so I have now turned auto pause on. (Have not yet hiked since to try it). My Garmin express is completely updated with GPS, maps, etc. I will have to try the GPS soak and see what comes of it. To comment on Philipshambrooks post, These hikes are local hikes that are not too extreme. No cliff faces like you stated and posted in the picture. I will give it a few more hikes while changing settings + GPS soak then contact support. It does not appear to be every hike that does this. I snowboard and use the GPS function and it has no problem with my runs down various faces of the mountain. Makes me scratch my head and wonder!