Curiosities,Wholesome WorldJUN 17, 2026

75 Times Urban Planners Failed To Predict What People Want, And It Resulted In ‘Desire Paths’ Around The City (New Pics)

Evelina Šiukšterytė, Jonas Grinevičius and Ilona Baliūnaitė

City planners and architects might be great at their jobs, but even the most brilliant minds can’t always anticipate what people want and need, and how they move. The best proof is the existence of mysterious so-called ‘desire paths,’ which are worn into the ground by humans and animals to take the shortest path.

We are featuring some of the most gorgeous and interesting desire paths from a fantastic online group, as a reminder that people always want to save time and energy, so they’ll take the shortest route.

We know which of these paths we’d love to walk down the most. What are your favorites?

#21 Through The Meadows

Desire path cutting through field of tall grass near gravel walking path and building

allesumsonst

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15points

The r/DesirePath moderator said that, in Dutch, some people call desire paths ‘elephant paths,’ though they’re not quite sure how common the phrase is. “I think the translation is Olifantenpaadje. Someone on the subreddit said they’re called Trampelpfad in German,” they said.

“When I originally joined the subreddit, it was about 3,000 subscribers deep. I’d seen someone mention it in a comment section, likely on a post of a desire path on /r/pics or a mention in r/AskReddit of these paths being paved following natural foot traffic on a college campus,” the mod told Bored Panda earlier.

#22 Which Path Do You Choose: Direct Or Panoramic?

Desire path cutting across grass field to shortcut a sidewalk near parking lot

kawanero

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14points

#23 It Persevered Past The Hedge And The Fence

Desire path worn through grass beside paved sidewalk in urban area

jdgmental

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14points

#24 A Fat One

Dirt desire path cutting through park greenery with surrounding trees

Taderyx

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14points

“A user named SecularScience created the subreddit after someone posted a picture of a desire path on another subreddit, probably r/pics, and a commenter noted that they have a name! It [the online community] emerged out of curiosity,” the mod shared.

They added that the community continues to expand through word of mouth. “When someone unknowingly posts a picture of a desire path, people tag the subreddit and the community grows.”

#25 Maybe An Overtake Path

Gravel desire path cutting across grass in a park near trees

websterflaming

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14points

#26 Sophisticated

Desire path splitting into two trails through forest leading off a paved road

FrenchFryRaven

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14points

#27 The Amount Of Time Saved By This One Is Insane

Desire path worn on hillside near underpass and parking area

AdOtherwise655

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14points

Currently, the r/DesirePath community gets 34k weekly visitors. The online group has been around since 2013, and it will celebrate its 13th birthday later this year, in September.

According to the moderators, anyone posting photos in the group should focus only on the paths that pedestrians prefer, not the ones that humans create. What’s more, this particular online community mainly focuses on human paths, not ones made by motor vehicles or captive animals. Other animal paths might be fine, but it is up to the discretion of the mods and the community.