No one wants to accidentally tread on a beautiful, but delicate part of their garden and accidentally kill it. For those gardeners with large, ornate gardens, a large pathway is the perfect place to put a bench, chairs, or even a hammock to sit and enjoy the fruits of your labor.
These pathways can be wide or narrow, winding or straight, and can be made out of many different kinds of materials. The most popular materials tend to be concrete or stone, but you may also see vinyl or synthetic wood.
If you’re trying to find a great new idea to freshen up your garden’s design, if your old pathway is cracked, aged, or falling apart from weathering, look no further. We’ve scoured the internet to find some of the best garden pathway ideas, from simple wooden stepping stones to more ornate mosaic tile paths, and even some incredibly engineered pathways over water.
Be sure to check out some of the more simple paths, which can be easy, inexpensive DIY projects. Pressing items, like leaves and stones, into concrete can leave amazing imprints that will add texture and visual interest to even the most simple concrete path.
1. Concrete Stone Stepping Stones in Gravel River
Perfectly circular concrete stepping stones laid on a darker gray set of gravel. The border of the winding pathway is edged in thin red bricks. The gravel makes it difficult for grass and other plants to grow around your main stepping stones.
2. Herringbone Brick Path
Classic bricks laid in a herringbone pattern make for a simple, traditional, yet decorative pathway. Even as the mortar chips away between the bricks, the path remains beautiful. To prevent weeds and grass from growing between the bricks over the years, mortar may be reapplied.
3. Winding Concrete Path with Leaf Imprints
A winding pathway in concrete with the edges of the garden seeming to grow seamlessly out of the concrete. The pathway is segmented subtly, and soft imprints of different species of leaves add texture.
4. Smooth Concrete Path Edged with Hardy Plants
A concrete pathway that is unsegmented and utterly smooth. The path is lined with hardy reddish shrubs to further distinguish between the light path and the lawn.
5. Aged Brick Path
A herringbone brick pathway with steps. The garden’s perimeter is marked by a brick wall. Small circular indentations are covered with moss and tall wildflowers. Small channels in the path allow water to drain easily.
6. Pressed Dirt Pathway
A traditional option, and perfectly suited to an indoor greenhouse garden, like this one. Inexpensive and easy to take care of.
7. Thin Slate Stepping Stones Embedded in Lawn
Ultra thin stepping stones are embedded into the lawn and arranged in an attractive alternating pattern. Allowing grass to grow between and around the stones makes for easy maintenance.
8. Vinyl Stepping Stones in Wood Chips
Inexpensive vinyl stepping stones will not bleach or rot while outdoors, and placed in a bed of woodchips, can be an attractive and easy pathway to create in your own garden.
9. Pebble Stepping Stones with Stone Daisy Accents
Tiny pebbles encased in concrete are brightened up with small white stones arranged to resemble white daisies. These stones can be an easy DIY solution, when placed simply on the lawn.
10. Multi-Colored Stone Tile Pathway
A beautiful stone pathway in muted, yet bright colored stone. A concrete edge separates the planting beds from the pathway.
11. Staggered Concrete Stepping Stones
These thin concrete slabs are dug into the lawn and are staggered along the pathway for visual distinction.
12. Rustic Wooden Stepping Stone Path
Similar to the concrete stepping stone path, for more rustic gardens, you may choose to substitute wooden boards for a more natural look. These boards will rot away and need to be replaced more often than concrete paths.
13. Decorative Terra Cotta Pathway with Foliage Decor
Raised terra cotta stepping stones run along a white stone pathway edged with larger, darker stones. Different leaves and other flora are painted onto each stone, and alternating stones have small cutouts where shrubs are planted to one side of the stone.
14. Smooth Multi-Colored Stone Path
A simple tan stone pathway with darker slabs of stone imbedded. Triangular edging stones and hedges line the pathway.
15. Elegant Dark Wood Path
An elegant dark wood pathway is easily transformed into a bridge where needed. These pathways need more maintenance and are more expensive to install, but give larger gardens a very polished look.
16. Tree-Ring Pathway
For an incredibly natural pathway, sections of downed trees can be repurposed as stepping stones. The rings of the tree are visible and add texture to the garden. While it may not be possible for you to find such large sections as the ones in this Zen garden, smaller trees work just as well.
17. Stone Brick Pathway in White Stones
Large garden edging stones can be used instead as stepping stones. Scattering smaller stones around the stepping stones helps keep the soil around the pathway well drained in the absence of grass or other ground covers.
18. Brown and Black Stone Path
Combining two different colors of stones can add a depth of visual interest to the pathway and allow you to use a cheaper plastic edging to finish the project without looking unfinished.
19. Flagstone Oath with Mosaic Tile Between Stones
Simple, classic flagstones can be oddly shaped, but placing smaller, more colorful stone tiles between the flagstones can add color and keep the mud at bay in wetter climates.
20. Circular Concrete Path with Leaf Imprints
Layering circular sections of concrete creates a simple staircase down a garden hill. After the concrete has been poured, leaves can be pressed into the concrete to leave decorative imprints.
21. Mosaic Path Of Small Stones
This pathway can be done DIY, but will take much more preparation and time to complete than other pathways. The stones can be selected from anywhere, as long as they are the correct shape and color for your design.
22. Diamond-Patterned Brick Pathway
Simple square stepping stones rotated slightly become a diamond path through smaller drainage stones with thin edging tiles along the side.
23. Fragmented Stone Tile Pathway
Simple square tiles are fragmented perfectly to add age and visual interest to the simple gray pathway. The path extends into a much wider one as the path reaches the patio.
24. Fragmented “Floating” Stone Island Pathway
These whimsical stepping stones are connected by small concrete bars. The effect of this pathway is a fragmented path of floating stone islands.
25. Flagstone Winding Path
A winding stone pathway of flagstone is perfect for a garden tour. The path holds up well to foot traffic and fits seamlessly into the garden’s design.
26. Geometric Patterned Mosaic Walkway
A little less time consuming than some of the other mosaic paths, this pattern features square stepping stones with lines of blueish and white stones on either side to create the pattern.
27. Winding Pebble Pathway with Wooden Bridge
A cobblestone path separated by small strips of concrete leads onto a raised wooden path over a creek. Both elements fit beautifully into the garden’s natural style. The cobblestone path is easy to take care of, and looks fantastic.
28. Simple Separated Concrete Path
A simple set of large concrete pavers with grass growing between makes for a simple, yet perfectly functional and elegant pathway through thick ground cover.
29. Ornate Pebble and Iron Path
A more ornate pebble mosaic path. Iron designs are laid down first, and the empty sections are filled in with small round pebbles. The green iron pulls the green of the trees overhead into the pathway.
30. Brick, Pebble, and Concrete Foot Print Path
A simple but sweet pathway made out of brick edgers. The center of the path is poured concrete with small round stones scattered throughout. Large concrete footprints are placed along the pathway and decorated with colored stones.
31. Tree-Ring Path on Dirt
This pathway is paved with thin cross-sections of downed trees. The effect is utterly natural and unique. The cross-sections of tree will need to be replaced as they begin to decompose.
32. Parquet Walkway in White Stones
Natural or synthetic wood parquet tiles can be placed next to each other or scattered about in a bed of white stones to create a water-resistant pathway through the garden. These tiles can also be used to create a large patio area as well.
33. Red Concrete in Lush Grass with Leaf Imprints
A light salmon red set of oddly shaped concrete platforms form a pathway through the yard. The thick grass between the platforms is allowed to grow slightly higher than the rest of the yard.
34. Painted Colorful Wooden Stepping Stones
Old boards can be painted colorfully and placed along the yard to act as a pathway. This option is a great, inexpensive way to create a garden path.
35. Grass on Grass Pathway
A more unique take on a traditional pathway is to plant several different types of grass. The varying thickness and color will form the pathway. Bonus: you’ll never have to worry about unwanted grass growing in your path!
