How to Make a Crushed Rock Path

Lay two garden hoses on the lawn where the path is to be placed. Because they are flexible and easily moved, hoses allow you to experiment with the shape and location of the path. A 48-inch-wide path allows two people to walk side by side.

Replace the hoses with marker flags once you settle on a design for the path. Place the markers a foot apart along both edges of the path.

Use a spade with a straight edge to cut along the edges of the path, removing the flags as you go. Push the sharp end of the spade into the soil perpendicular to the ground. Lift the spade straight out of the ground and put it back in directly next to the first cut, creating one long cut marking the path on each side.

Divide the sod on the path into 1-foot-square sections with the spade, using the same technique as in Step 3. Dig up each square and set it aside for use in other parts of the yard.

Rake the newly exposed dirt to even out the surface, removing large clumps of dirt and filling holes.

Press the dirt down with a tamper, a long-handled tool with a flat sheet of metal used to compress surfaces. Use enough pressure to compact the dirt completely.

Lay polyester landscape cloth over the pathway. It's okay if the cloth goes over the edge of the path as long as the bed of the path is covered.

Push the plastic edging into the cloth and press it into the cut edge of the path until the top of the edging is flush with the grass. Use a rubber mallet to pound the plastic stakes that come with the edging into the bottom lip at a 45-degree angle.

Cut any excess cloth along the outside of the edging with a box cutter. Cut the cloth as deep down between the edging and the grass as possible.

Pour half of the crushed rock into the path. Compact the first layer of rock with the tamper. Check for loose spots before adding the next layer.

Pour the remaining crushed rock on the path. Compact the second layer with the tamper. Check for loose spots and press the rock with the tamper again.