We all love a garden path, whether winding or straight. Neat as a pin or overgrown with plants, backyard garden paths lead our eye through a garden, and add charm and focus as well. Every garden needs a path. If you are not in need of an actual walkway through your garden, consider a path to lead to a focal point, around garden beds to make the yard look larger, or simply to nowhere in particular to add some structure and design elements. Here are 13 great DIY garden path and backyard walkway ideas you can do this weekend!

Garden Paths & Walkway Ideas

Paver Walkway Idea

These inexpensive walkway pavers from ‘Greenhouse Carol‘ are easy to do yourself! Made from cedar and river stones, this is pretty enough to be part of your front walkway landscaping. More modern and “Zen”, we love how easy these stepping stone pavers were to make.

Gravel Garden Path

This gravel garden path idea from ‘The Gardener of Good and Evil‘ shows you just how to make a stable DIY garden path. This means the gravel won’t easily wash away, and the footing will be firm and easy to walk on. (A must!)

Gravel Walkway Ideas

Learn how to make a garden path that is simple and effective. If you need gravel walkway ideas, ‘Sunset’ magazine has complete  instructions and tutorial.

Here is another take on a garden path idea from ‘Houzz‘. Notice how the gravel path edging keeps the gravel neat and out of the adjacent planting beds. You can use either a plastic or metal edging product from the home improvement store for this. Or, if you want to get more creative, try our post on DIY Garden Edging!

Stone Walkway Ideas

Learn how to build a stone walkway from ‘DIY Network‘. This tutorial takes you step by step through how to install this flagstone path. Do you have a favorite from these backyard walkway ideas yet?

Stone pavers can be cut into the garden easily and creates a natural look for any yard. Lay each paver in its place, then cut around the stone into the sod or soil with a sharp knife. Remove the sod or soil with a spade, then drop the stone into place. This is a great idea for building a stone walkway or garden path with a natural look.  Photo by ‘Houzz‘.

This is an example of a stone DIY path cut into sod. You can use any kind of flat stone, such as flagstone. Check with your local landscape supply to find out what stone paving material might be the cheapest in your area for these kinds of backyard walkway ideas. Photo from ‘Freshome’.

Wood Slice Garden Path Idea

This garden path is simple and easy if you have access to a saw and tree logs! Building a walkway like this does take some patience.  Love this take on cheap garden path ideas from ‘Domesticated Nomad‘. Good instructions on how to make a backyard walkway that uses materials from your own yard.

Pallet Wood Walkway

This DIY backyard walkway was created to keep little feet safe from sharp objects in the yard. It is more like a slightly raised boardwalk, and we think that is so cool! This would also be great if you have rock mulch that is hard to manage for older folks, or even to make the garden accessible to a wheelchair or cane. (Make it wide enough!) From ‘The Refurbished Home‘, they take you through just how they made this garden path. (And this path is made from recycled wood!)

How to Make a Pallet Wood Plank Walkway

Here is another example of DIY garden paths that you can use to create that perfect dream garden! This is the same idea as the previous wood walkway, but with neater edges and a wider path for a less rustic look. This one has a great YouTube tutorial to check out too!

This pine sleeper walkway idea from ‘Kit Home Ideas‘ is a full tutorial for creating a DIY walkway with a strong foundation. Built on “rails” just like a railroad track, this path is made from pressure treated wood to resist rot. Step by step tutorial with lots of photos to help you build a garden path you can use for years!

Backyard Walkway from Railroad Ties

We love the minimal look of this garden walkway design. These are sleeper rails cut into sod. It’s these kind of simple walkway ideas that have stood up to the test of time.

Finally, we have a backyard walkway idea that is another form of the sleeper rail walkway project. These are pressure treated pine boards as well, but not built onto a foundation frame like the previous DIY garden paths. We recommend laying these planks on a bed of sand for good drainage. Then lay out your boards in the walkway design you prefer. Now fill the path with gravel. Photo by ‘Houzz‘.

We hope you enjoyed learning about DIY Garden Path and Backyard Walkway Ideas! Also see our post, Classic Garden Walkway Projects or  Stepables: Perfect Plants for Paths and Walkways. And if it’s the holiday season, check out the Christmas Pathway Lights on our Trending Outdoor Christmas Light post!

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