Humans argue about a lot of things, but if there’s one thing we’re consistent about, it’s this: we don’t like unnecessary effort. When something feels overcomplicated, we’ll often, whether we realize it or not, look for the easier way out.
That shared instinct often shows up as desire paths, the unofficial trails people create by repeatedly taking the most convenient shortcut. There’s even an entire subreddit dedicated to this phenomenon, and below you’ll find some of the latest posts from it. Funny how nothing gets us on the same page faster than a shared “nope.”
#1 My Dog’s Desire Path, Even 10 Years After He’s Gone
#2 Desire Path Goat?
#3 Do Non Human Desire Paths Count?
No matter how neatly the sidewalk is paved by a bus stop or how lush the grass looks in a park, it rarely stops people from carving out their own desire paths anyway. And once you spot one right in front of you, chances are you’ll take it too, instead of sticking to the route someone else planned. In fact, it apparently takes as few as fifteen trips across an unpaved stretch for a desire path to start forming, and after that, it’s basically a done deal.
#4 Viscardigasse Is A Street In Munich With A Path Paved In Bronze To Honor Those Who Took It To Avoid Having To Do The Salute
#5 This Person Turned A Desire Path To KFC Into California’s Shortest Hiking Trail
Instagram user matterneuroscience spotted an urban desire path that led to a KFC in an urban area in North Auburn California.
In an act of civic silliness, they named the 0.05 mile trail the Chicken Little Trail, put up an official-looking trail marker, and then informed Google Maps of its existence.
#6 The People Yearn For A Sidewalk
We’ve probably been doing this for ages, but the term is often traced to French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, who wrote about “lignes de désir” in his 1958 book The Poetics of Space, according to The Guardian.
Nature author Robert Macfarlane has also written about what these informal shortcuts reveal about us. In his 2012 book The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot, Macfarlane calls them “elective easements” and says: “Paths are human; they are traces of our relationships.”
#7 If Not Path, Then Why Path-Shaped?
#8 Wish I Could See What The View Is Like From Up There!
#9 View From My Office Building
Depending on who you ask, they also go by “desire lines,” especially in transportation and planning circles. And they’ve picked up plenty of nicknames, too, like “cow paths,” “social trails,” and even “elephant trails,” per The New Yorker. The names may differ, but the message stays the same: “This is where we actually go.”
#10 People Said No To This Speed Bump
#11 There’s A Guy At The Park Who Does Tai Chi So Much He Left A Ring In The Ground
#12 Yeah That Wasn’t Gonna Happen
At their simplest, desire paths are trails worn into the ground by repeated footsteps, usually because they offer a faster way through. You’ll spot them cutting across grass in parks, slicing corners on campuses, or appearing next to sidewalks where the official route takes one extra turn too many. At their most interesting, though, they raise a bigger question about our habits and why we keep making them wherever we go.
#13 Desire Path Made Official
#14 Officially Recognized Now
Nice desired path on the UCF campus; after spring break, this sign popped up.
#15 It Would Be Easier To Move The Crosswalk Instead
Some researchers see desire paths as a sign that pedestrians can’t or won’t follow the routes laid out for them. One academic journal even says they “record collective disobedience.” Others interpret them in a simpler way: less as rebellion and more as practicality, since they usually mark the quickest or most convenient way to reach a destination.
#16 Informally Called The “Kitty Highway”, The Neighborhood Cat Trail Through Our Yard Was Near Invisible Until First Snowfall
#17 The Amount Of Time Saved By This One Is Insane
#18 Does A Path Created By Ants Count?
That, in turn, can point to flaws in a city’s design, meaning walkways weren’t built where they needed to be, and desire paths end up revealing the mismatch. That’s why many places pay attention to where people naturally walk, then adjust their layouts later. Kurt Kohlstedt notes this in a piece for 99% Invisible.
#19 It’s Beautiful
#20 Very Pronounced Desire Path At My School
#21 A Desire Path So Desired That It’s Recognized By Google
In Finland, for example, he writes that city officials document where people walk in parks after the first snowfall of the year, then use that data in their trail planning. Similarly, a number of educational institutions, including Virginia Tech and the University of California, Berkeley, have reportedly waited to see which routes students, faculty, and staff take regularly before deciding where to pave additional pathways across campus. Pretty cool, right?
#22 Desire Path Through The Hedge
#23 Path Through The Great Wall Of China
#24 Who Would’ve Thought That People Have To Go To Zebra Crossings
At the same time, desire paths aren’t always harmless. In nature areas, repeated off-trail travel can create visible tracks, damage vegetation, and encourage even more people to follow the same line.
Leave No Trace guidance specifically recommends spreading out when traveling off-trail so you don’t create a brand-new route that others will copy, and the U.S. National Park Service also emphasizes dispersing use in pristine areas to prevent new trails from forming.
So while desire paths can be funny and even wholesome in cities, in fragile landscapes the kindest choice is often to resist the shortcut for once.
#25 People Walking On The Grass Because Of The Huge Uncomfortable “Gravel” Used
#26 McDonald’s Tried To Fight It But After A Few Years Went With It
#27 Desire Path Around A Roundabout In My City
#28 Desirestaircase?
#29 Not Taking The Stairs
#30 The People Have Spoken
#31 I Don’t Think People Are Listening
#32 The Stray Cats Have Walked A Little Path In Our Backyard
#33 The Bikes Don’t Want To Take The Long Way Around
#34 The Desire Was Strong
#35 Desire Path Made Into A Real Path!
#36 Brussels University
#37 Bike Desire Path In The Netherlands
#38 Fun Sign At A School Trying To Abolish, Terminate, And End A Desire Path
#39 Who Would Want To Walk 200m Extra
#40 You Can’t Stop Them
#41 Classic American No-Sidewalk Desire Path
#42 Path Of Ice Shows Where People Used To Walk
#43 Slovakia (Allegedly)
#44 Nobody Could Plan For This
#45 Desire Paths Connecting A Suburban Neighborhood To The Strip Mall Next To It In The Mojave
#46 Why Should I Go Left, If I Need To Go Right?
#47 My And The Other Cats From The House Made A Desirepath Over The Years
It’s fascinating to see 7 cats adhere to their path.
#48 Wow! 🤩 Does This Count? A Paved Desire Path In Tirana, Albania
#49 Best Thing To Prevent Desire Path
#50 Because Walking Above The Path Is More Fun
#51 We’ve Been Betrayed
#52 Not Sure How To Feel About This One
#53 They Took Our Desire Path 🙁
#54 Why Only One When You Can Have Four?
#55 Absolute Unit In Prague
#56 Could This Be The Smallest One Ever ???
#57 Two Different Desire Paths By Squirrels And Rats. The Park Is Covered By Them. I Think It’s Neat
#58 Mushrooms Growing A Straight Line To The Sewer
#59 They Think This Will Stop Us
#60 Desire Path Blocked With Impermeable Barrier
#61 Humans: Invent Roads. Also Humans: Nah, I Forge My Own Destiny
#62 My Trusty Desire Path Is Under Attack. How To Proceed?
#63 Alternate Network
#64 Desire Stairs
#65 Desire Path In Dutch Is Elephant Path
#66 I’m Pretty Sure The Homeowners Made This For Themselves
#67 A Triple!
#68 Does This Count? My Neighbours Cat Likes This Shortcut
#69 The Desire Path Is (Mostly) Official
#70 Golf Course Trying To Fight The Desire Path
#71 Oh No They Blocked It
#72 Don’t Know If It Counts As Desire Path, But It’s Because A Weekly Fruit Stand
#73 The Cones Tried And Failed
#74 Coastal Desire Path
#75 At The University I’m At They Decided To Fence Off A Path To Prevent People Going Up It
#76 Some People Would Do Anything To Avoid Stairs
#77 Shaving Those Valuable Seconds Off!
#78 Wollongong, Australia
#79 I Used The Stairs, I Failed You All
#80 The Most Unnecessary Desire Path
#81 Red Harvester Ants Have Created A Desire Path In My Turf
#82 Little Delta Of Desirepath In Riga
#83 The More Pointless, The Better!
#84 Steep But Short
#85 Shortcut To The Trailhead
#86 Snow Revealing My Greatest Desires
#87 Short-Cutting The School Way
#88 Compacted Snow Takes Longer To Melt, Revealing Most Commons Paths Across Plaza
#89 Man Taking A Long Desire Path To Deliver Food In Dubai
#90 Cleveland State – The Snow Melts Slower On The Path
#91 Desire Path?
#92 Quite The Shortcut From The Official Path
#93 Corner Lawn
#94 Desired Bike Path
