I moved to a new home with an established garden in west Michigan. They had mulch between the raised beds, but because of a new job, I wasn't able to keep up with the maintenance of the pathways, and now they are covered in grass and weeds. What are your recommendations for clearing it and putting down mulch or gravel?
Here is a picture from end of last summer. It's much worse right now. 😞

Gravel would probably be easier to maintain; mulch might be kinder on your garden helpers' feet.

I disagree about the gravel being easier to maintain; weeds will also grow in and through that - but, I just personally hate gravel because it seems to end up everywhere it wasn't intended to. I would recommend using mulch over a layer of cardboard (or several layers of newspaper), which should smother the weeds.

Welcome to NGA @Matkins !

Actualll gravel would turn into a muddy mess; crushed rock, preferably granite would work well but you would still have to weed it and you would need at least three inches or it will just sink into the ground.

To get rid of the weeds, weed killer would work quickest/best .
Then put mulch over that.

Would not recommend gravel, weeds will still grow through, it is not mx free.

Agree with the others. Unless you're in the desert gravel is useless/ Mulch works best and with cardboard and/or newspaper underneath. Make it thick and it will last longer. Don't use weed barrier. Doesn't help the soil and it only encourages weeds to grow on top of the mulch which means you then rip the plastic when pulling weeds.

THick layer of mulch
(beautiful dogs!)

The dogs will also thank you since mulch is much easier on the feet!!

Another vote for mulch from me!

My personal experience with gravel (or similar rock stuff): DH was inspired to use some of the "rock ballast" that you see along railroad tracks - he worked for the RR for 39 years and this was near the end of that time - for several areas around our house... although it seemed like a fairly reasonable idea at the time, we are now removing it bit by bit. Not the only mistake we've made with the landscaping efforts over the years, for sure. (If the lawnmower didn't throw it somewhere where it shouldn't be, the snowblower did.)

Agree here, too: mulch is better. If you choose rock of some kind, please don't use crush granite. It has sharp edges that don't weather away, and it won't be good for your dog feet, either. I use it in my pots to keep squirrels from digging in them.

Leftwood said: Agree here, too: mulch is better. If you choose rock of some kind, please don't use crush granite. It has sharp edges that don't weather away, and it won't be good for your dog feet, either. I use it in my pots to keep squirrels from digging in them.

That is the point of crushed granite it does NOT weather away and turn to.
Compact it and it is easy to walk on, I have been doing it bare foot, in our parking lot for thirty years.
Any stone ground cover that weathers away is a waste of money.

A grassy path isn't the worst thing to have... I'd probably maintain with string trimmer once a month or less.

Keeping space bare? Kind of a losing proposition.
Seeds love a nice gravel path for germination... They like decomposed mulch too.

Seems like fresh mulch grows stuff within a few months of being put out...

Gravel is forever. Consider those poor future gardeners who'll have to live with the nuisance, once you've left the scene. Placing gravel is akin to burning a bridge.

I deal with the weed/grass problem like this: We have bare soil paths between beds. I don't want to mow those paths, or use herbicides, or lay paper or gravel. So once the weeds/grasses start coming up in late spring, I'll wait for a forecast of dry, warm days ahead. Then I take a shovel and systematically scrape strips of the soil by pushing the shovel away from me, scalping a thin layer, 6 to 12 inches long and about 4 inches wide, 1 inch deep, and turn that strip over while it's on the shovel blade, leaving the roots turned up and the green more or less buried beneath. Then I do the same with the adjoining strip, etc., gradually working backwards down the path away from where I've been.

Eventually, and without much effort or time spent, all those young weeds and grasses lie turned upside down with their roots cut and exposed. Then I don't walk on that surface for as long as possible. The sun dries the exposed roots and the grasses/weed seedlings die.
Since they are young and vulnerable, they won't resprout after being dry.

The result is a nice mulch later in the season, which keeps further weed germination at bay.

It's important not to walk on the loosely turned slabs of soil, so as not to compress the root systems. If they are walked on and then you get some rain, the grass/weeds recover and continue to grow.

It's a bit tricky with the timing. But it's really not a lot of work (on our silty loam soil.) You push the shovel away from your body. You bend only as far as is comfortable. The weight of the scalped slabs depends on how wide or deep a slice you take.

Depending on how large the raised bed area is; if it is just a few raised beds in the area, putting cardboard down and covering with mulch would smother the weeds. If that is the case, I would recommend entirely covering all the way to the edges of the wood. Otherwise, the weeds will reappear at those edges. (Give 'em an inch…. ya know!)
If it is an extensive area with many raised beds, I would opt for a string trimmer to keep the walkways clear.
BTW I use a string trimmer to edge my flower beds and create a lengthy 'divot' along the area between the lawn and mulched beds.
Pretty dogs!

I don't know how you usually keep your lawn but I would just mow it. I had a path like that and I just mowed it regularly. Yes, if you looked closely you would see that it wasn't a good quality lawn grass but from 20 feet away it looked very nice. It's an easy solution. In the winter you can improve the look of it with a light layer of mulch. In the spring when you cut it again the mower will just shred it. You could even buy grass seed for that area to improve it some but I like to keep it simple and neat.

Tomtom2 said: I don't know how you usually keep your lawn but I would just mow it. I had a path like that and I just mowed it regularly. Yes, if you looked closely you would see that it wasn't a good quality lawn grass but from 20 feet away it looked very nice. It's an easy solution. In the winter you can improve the look of it with a light layer of mulch. In the spring when you cut it again the mower will just shred it. You could even buy grass seed for that area to improve it some but I like to keep it simple and neat.

I have a path between two gardens, with railroad tie edging and I do just keep it as a lawn, it looks as good as I am energetic to keep it weeded,

I don't like the need to mix herbicide spray in close-proximity to the garden beds. I also don't like gravel in close proximity to any string-trimming or mowing! And, as mentioned, if you change your mind on the gravel- Uugh!
I've done the cardboard with mulch on top, its pretty functional, but that's an ongoing strategy that you might find too effortful.

I just use a string trimmer in my garden paths and let the corners grow some weeds for an insectary.
I used to dump the grass clippings on the path, but now I just mulch those clippings with the lawn-mower mulching setting and don't collect them.
However, the grass/weeds in the path will continually invade into your veggie beds.
You might try a propane torch burner for some weed or path touch-ups.

Gravel gets really hot in the summer. I find I can't sit in it to work (bad knees) and your poodles would hate it due to heat. I don't know if Poodles are inclined to eat rocks as Bassets, but I just see them eating an extra large rock and then doing surgery to remove it. I find that mulch is as likely to get in spots it doesn't belong as gravel, at least it stays cool. It suppresses weeds better than gravel. So, mulch for the win at our house. We get a cypress mulch at Home Depot that we love. It lasts longer than red and black mulches.

Can you guys grow the new micro-clover where you are? It's perennial, naturalizes and gets only a few inches tall. Trifolium repens var. Pipolina (American Meadows has good photos)