How to Create an Outdoor Walkway

Lay out the shape of the walkway with rope, making it as wide as you like. Excavate the entire walkway area with a trenching spade to the depth of approximately 3 inches. Rake smooth.

Dig trenches 8 1/2 inches wide and 5 inches deep along both edges of the walkway site using the trenching spade.

Verify trench depth by standing up one of the 8-by-4-by-2 brick pavers in the trench. The top of the paver should stand 3 inches above ground level. Repeat for the other trench. Adjust the depth of the trenches if necessary.

Line each walkway trench with strips of landscape fabric. Overlap the strips by approximately 6 inches, and push the edges of the fabric into the trench.

Place the brick pavers horizontally in each edging trench, leaving no gaps between them. Pack soil behind and under each brick with a trowel, and adjust bricks as you go to keep them even. Tap each paver gently with a mallet to help them set into the soil. The pavers create a decorative outline for the walkway and hold in the walkway material.

Spread loose-fill material, such as gravel or small rock, on the walkway, adding as you go until it the material sits slightly above ground level. Level the walkway with a garden rake by gently raking the loose-fill material until even.