Merriam Webster dictionary defines a desire path as “an unplanned route or path (such as one worn into a grassy surface by repeated foot traffic) that is used by pedestrians in preference to or in the absence of a designated alternative (such as a paved pathway).”

This may sound like a pretty formal definition, but in its heart, desire paths show so much more than our daily shortcuts and preferred ways to reach destinations. They reflect routines, habits and presence of a living being, whether it’s a human or an animal. They stand like lines of traces carved well into dirt, grass, and anywhere, really.

There’s even this mesmerizing corner of Reddit, “Desire Paths,” “dedicated to the paths that humans prefer, rather than the paths that humans create.” Below we wrapped up some of the most interesting examples that capture our imagination.

#1 The World’s (Actual) Greatest Desire Path! He Carved A Road Through A Mountain Over 22yrs To Shorten The Distance From His Village To The Nearest Hospital From 70km To 1km

Image credits: johnjames460

#2 Ux vs. Design

Image credits: reddit.com

#3 The Ants In My Garage Built A Bridge Over My Glue Trap

Image credits: halfhippo999

#4 The Oval Walkways At Ohio State University Were Paved Based On The Students’ Desire Paths

Image credits: ADTR20

#5 My Cat Passed Away Last Night. These Were His Paths

Image credits: Just_some_soundguy

#6 At The Student Residence. I Tried To Walk The Intended Path For Once. It Was Long

Image credits: TopoNewt

#7 Superstition

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#8 Desire Stairs

Image credits: Oops_I_Sparted

#9 This Path In Russia Is Very Desired

Image credits: mysticalmisogynistic

#10 If You Try Sometimes, You Get What You Need

Image credits: _qwertsquirt

#11 After Our Dog Passed, We Turned His Desire Path Into A Forever Path

Image credits: Muscles_McGeee

#12 Restrictions In Poland Hitting Hard

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#13 People Made A Desire Pentagram Inside A Big Roundabout

Image credits: reddit.com

#14 Found This Beautiful Path Earlier This Year

Image credits: Degenerated__

#15 Does This Count? A Footpath So Badly Constructed Nobody Wants To Use It

Image credits: Gaudern

#16 Well Worn Wall Mart Path. Deepest I’ve Ever Seen

Image credits: reddit.com

#17 Generations Of Bunnies Have Worn A Perfect Groove In My Neighbor’s Fence

Image credits: bighag

#18 Doggo Desire Path At A Local Off-Leash Park. Remember That Pavement Can Be Too Hot For Paws On A Sunny Day!

Image credits: Nealios

#19 Was Told To Post This Here, So Here I Am Posting This Here

Image credits: abc123987xyz

#20 Found This As A Post On Facebook. Elephant Paths Anyone?

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#21 This Attempt At Making A Pathway Through A Park

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#22 One Step Desire Path. Shortest One Ever

Image credits: IamsoberIswear

#23 Google Acknowledges The Desire Paths On Our Campus

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#24 Yes Yes Yes!!

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#25 My Dad Shoveled A Path But The Rest Of The Family Decided It Was Too Far

Image credits: TrekkieTay

#26 It Took 4 Years

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#27 I’m In A Long Distance Relationship With My Girlfriend, And This Is Where I Walk When I’m On The Phone With Her Every Night

Image credits: cosmicnate

#28 Desire Path Of A 17yo Kitty

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#29 Found A Lovely One In Dorset

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#30 The Real Path Does Not Even Exist Anymore

Image credits: Dekubitus

#31 Will You Take The Desire Stairs Or The Desire Ramp? (South Downs, England)

Image credits: odious_odes

#32 Somebody Really Thought This Design Would Be A Good Idea

Image credits: user3723

#33 The Sidewalks On My School’s Quad Are Not Symmetrical Because They Were Installed Based On Where The Grass Was Worn Out…

Image credits: Maximum-Excitement58

#34 Technical University Delft (Nl) Paved All Desire Paths

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#35 If This Isn’t A Big Enough Sign That You Need To Trim Your Hedges More Often I Don’t Know What Is

Image credits: poshbo

#36 This Desire Path Has Slowly Disappeared Now That No One Is Coming To The Office Due To Covid… Wonder How Many Others Are Disappearing

Image credits: trishayyy10

#37 Check Out The Size Of This Absolute Unit

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#38 The Never Ending Path

Image credits: KnowKnow92

#39 Honestly I’m Not Sure What They Expected

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#40 My Moms Path For Entering And Leaving The Lake

Image credits: patprika

#41 I Took This Two Years Ago But Just Discovered The Sub So I Thought I’d Share. Just A Bike Path Behind My Old School

Image credits: Chinesemexican

#42 Dutch Anti-Cobblestone Bicycle Desire Path

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#43 Does This Count? Ants Walking The Same Path Over And Over Again Made A Mark On These Dusty Tiles

Image credits: YAZEED-IX

#44 She’s Made A Few Desire Paths. I Like This One The Most

Image credits: clayts1983

#45 This College Paved Over The Desire Paths After Waiting A Year To See Where Mud Trails Formed

Image credits: Epithymetic

#46 You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

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#47 I’m Putting Desire Paths Everywhere I Don’t Follow My Paths In Animal Crossing

Image credits: illithidfucker69

#48 Do People Finger Tracing Their Desired Path Count?

Image credits: Earth_Worm_Jimbo

#49 They Really Re-Sodded The Path

Image credits: realGeorgeHuang

#50 In North Korea Satellite Imagery You Can Clearly See Where People Walk Across Deserted Motorways

Image credits: Tranquilwhirlpool

#51 Desire Paths Left By People Walking Away And Stumbling Back To Their Tents At Glastonbury

Image credits: alvin_stardust

#52 My University Giving Into The Desire Path

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#53 Been Walking To Work Everyday For 2 Years And I Just Realized I’ve Been Making My Own Path

Image credits: shadknight20

#54 Extreme Desire Path

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#55 No, I Don’t Think I Will

Image credits: JesusSaves002

#56 “Two Roads Diverged In A Yellow Wood”–One Shaves 250 Yards Off The Paved Trail. (See The Satellite Inset To Appreciate This One.)

Image credits: w3woody

#57 Squirrel Desire Path

Image credits: periwinkle-pangolin

#58 I’ve Never Seen A More Concise Or Humorous Example Of This Sub In Real Life

Image credits: Bank_Gothic

#59 Visitors At Parc Floral De Paris Prefer To Jump The Moat Instead Of Going The Long Way Back

Image credits: MJ_Kuiper

#60 Dense Snow Melts Slower Than Regular Snow

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#61 When Desire Becomes Reality

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#62 What Am I To Do With The 2 Seconds I Saved Today?

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#63 Underwater Path Created By People Walkin Through About 2 Feet Of Water To Get To That Stone At A St Patrick’s Well In Ireland

Image credits: 5years8months3days

#64 My Apartment Turned A Desire Path Into An Official Path

Image credits: CraftySwinePhD

#65 My College Put Sod On The Path And Put Up A Sign. The Students Listened To The Sign And Created A Path Next To The Sod

Image credits: TheSaifman

#66 My Dog’s Desire Path Is Filling Up With Flower Petals. Looks Pretty At The Moment!

Image credits: LiteBriteJorge

#67 Do Moles Count? The Path Is Out Of Sight, But Implied… I Sat And Waited For Half An Hour Before Movement Resumed On The Last Mound

Image credits: High-Plains-Grifter

#68 The Path My Dog Created So She Can Say Hi To Her Neighbor

Image credits: LedZepCH2Os

#69 One Of The Best I’ve Seen Irl. Taken In February

Image credits: wake-upmrwest

#70 What Is This, A Desire Path For Ants?!

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#71 A Slavic Desire Path That Is Toll Free

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#72 Virtual Desire Path In Red Dead Redemption 2

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#73 It Seems We Desire A Sidewalk

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#74 The Path My Dog Takes Every Day To Visit The Neigbors

Image credits: yaboijimboslice

#75 Not Sure If This Is Allowed. Swimming Paths Made By A Moorhen On The Way To And From Its Nest

Image credits: bwl17

#76 Bollards Were Installed Last Week At My Estate, Meaning All 450 Houses Have To Use One Road To Exit. In The Wise Words Of That Bloke From The Dinosaur Film “Life Uh, Finds A Way”

Image credits: UnicornTurtle_

#77 My Dog’s Everyday Path

Image credits: Velnica

#78 Girlfriend Found “One Of Those Pathy Thingies You Showed Me”

Image credits: BreakawayPAK

#79 What Is This, A Desire Path For Ducks?! Yes, Actually

Image credits: OnlyMakingNoise

#80 This One Is Bound To Cause Some Heavy Breathing For You All

Image credits: KismetKeys

#81 My Friend Sent Me This Desire Path

Image credits: On-The-Clock

#82 Social Distancing In London

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#83 I Needed A Miracle To Make It To Class On Time, And Here Is That Miracle

Image credits: chemical_refraction

#84 There’s So Much Going On Here

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#85 This Absolute Unit On The Left And His Little Brother On The Right

Image credits: Maarus

#86 London Desire Path Is So Dry It’s Becoming A Desire Canyon

Image credits: Fingertippytaps

#87 Kids Cheating In This Hedge Maze

Image credits: vixenblitzen

#88 These Stairs Are Terrible, I Hate Using Them. Each Step Is Like Half The Height Of A Normal Step, But They’re Too Wide To Comfortably Take Two At A Time

Image credits: WardedThorn

#89 “Avoid The Bend” Desire Path From England

Image credits: Barborka01

#90 Desire Path Spotted On The Campus Of Monster’s University

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#91 A Path So Desired That The Hill Has Been Eroded Away ?

Image credits: brettwestbrook

#92 My Neighbor Has Worn This Path To His Car Over 9 Months

Image credits: RooneyEatsIt

#93 Desire Staircase

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#94 There’s A Sign Here That Says “Cyclists Dismount”

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#95 Prison Football Pitch

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#96 The University Said No

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#97 Doggo Path

Image credits: Spicycliche

#98 One Of My Favorite Local Desirepaths. Over A Small Stream, On Industrial Pipe

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#99 This Walmart Parking Lot

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#100 The Rarely Seen Vehicular Desire Path

Image credits: reddit.com

#101 So Popular It’s Worn Down The Hump

Image credits: xrebelstarfishx

#102 I Pass This Desire Path Often And Every Time I Laugh At How Completely Pointless It Is

Image credits: reddit.com

Source: boredpanda.com