When designing your yard or garden, you may need ground cover plants that can tolerate foot traffic in high-use areas. While grass is the traditional choice, it doesn’t always hold up well to constant wear and tear. The good news is that you have several attractive alternatives.
Certain hardy, low-growing ground covers can take light to moderate foot traffic while adding visual interest and serving practical purposes like erosion control They make excellent lawn substitutes in small spaces, fillers between pavers or stepping stones, and pathway plants.
But which groundcovers can withstand being walked on? Here are 12 of the best options for high-traffic zones:
1. Thyme
With over 400 varieties, thyme comes in a wide range of flower colors, leaf textures, growth habits, and scents. Creeping types like wooly thyme, Elfin thyme, and red creeping thyme work well as walkable ground covers. Their dense, mat-forming growth prevents soil erosion while releasing a pleasant aroma when stepped on. Thyme thrives in full sun and tolerates drought once established.
2. Dwarf Mondo Grass
Mondo grass forms a lush living carpet of graceful strappy foliage. Maintaining a tidy height of 3-6 inches, it’s a graceful ground cover for Asian-inspired gardens. Its grassy texture also makes a fine lawn substitute. There are green and white-variegated varieties. Dwarf mondo handles moderate foot traffic well when grown in part to full shade and moist soil.
3. Sedum
With succulent leaves and a spreading habit, sedums are almost indestructible. Tough, drought-tolerant varieties like Dragon’s Blood, Tricolor, and Blue Spruce hold up to light foot traffic. Plant sedum between pavers or as a sturdy living mulch. Its thick carpeting effect controls erosion on slopes and banks. Sedum does best in full sun and average to dry soil.
4. Creeping Phlox
Early spring blooms give creeping phlox superb seasonal interest. This popular native wildflower forms a carpet of needle-like evergreen foliage, tolerating both foot traffic and dry soil once established. It spreads quickly, making it ideal for hillsides and slopes prone to erosion. Creeping phlox grows 3-6 inches tall and thrives in full sun to part shade.
5. Corsican Mint
Among the smallest members of the mint family at just 1-3 inches tall Corsican mint forms fragrant evergreen mats. Its tiny leaves emit a pleasant minty aroma when stepped on. Lilac flowers appear in summer. Use Corsican mint between pavers and stepping stones. It thrives in light shade and moist soil.
6. Irish Moss
Despite its name, Irish moss is not a true moss but a hardy perennial ground cover. It forms low emerald green carpets accented by saucer-shaped white spring blooms. The foliage springs back readily after being trod upon. Irish moss grows well in part sun to full shade and moist, acidic soil. It spreads readily by runners.
7. Creeping Jenny
With chartreuse rounded leaves on trailing stems, creeping Jenny forms a fast-growing ground cover for shady areas Tolerating foot traffic well, it’s ideal for decorating paths, cascading over walls and planters, and softening harsh edges Creeping Jenny spreads aggressively via underground runners, so don’t plant it where you don’t want it to spread. It does best in part shade and moist soil.
8. Periwinkle
Though some consider it invasive, periwinkle provides superb evergreen ground cover you can walk on. Rapidly covering large areas, its dark green foliage shows off pale blue pinwheel-shaped spring blooms. Periwinkle tolerates full shade, erosion, salt spray, pollution, and urban conditions. Despite spreading aggressively, it stands up well to foot traffic.
9. White Clover
Used as a nitrogen-fixing cover crop for centuries, clover is making a comeback as an eco-friendly lawn alternative. Dwarf white clover only reaches 4-8 inches tall, creating a living carpet of bright greenery accented with white blooms loved by bees. Its resilient leaves spring back after being walked on. Clover thrives in full sun to partial shade and moist, slightly acidic soil.
10. Dichondra
This native ground cover mimics the look of a moss lawn while tolerating foot traffic well. Dichondra forms a dense carpet of small, rounded emerald leaves on trailing stems just 2-4 inches tall. It spreads readily via above-ground runners but is not overly aggressive. Dichondra grows well in zones 7-10 and needs warm temperatures, full sun, and weekly watering to thrive.
11. Ajuga
Ajuga offers lovely bicolor and bronze-tinged foliage on compact upright plants 4-8 inches tall. Also called bugleweed, it produces dense mats of foliage topped with blue flower spikes in spring. The foliage springs back readily after being stepped on. Ajuga spreads aggressively and may require pruning to keep it in bounds. It thrives in part sun to full shade.
12. Scotch Moss
This aptly named perennial forms a plush moss-like carpet just 1-2 inches tall when grown as a ground cover. Its tiny leaves give off a fresh green scent when walked on. Tiny white spring blooms add ornamental value. Scotch moss tolerates light foot traffic well and is deer resistant. Give it full sun to partial shade and evenly moist soil.
What to Consider When Choosing Walkable Groundcovers
When selecting ground covers for high-traffic areas, look for plants that form dense, matting growth rather than upright clumps. Seek out tough, resilient varieties instead of delicate, fragile ones. Steer clear of aggressive spreaders that could easily get out of control unless you’re willing to prune them back regularly.
Consider the site conditions like sun exposure, soil type, and moisture levels. Match the ground cover’s preferences to the environment where it will be planted. Factor in your climate and choose plants suited to your USDA Hardiness Zone.
Pick plants appropriate for your needs. For example, erosion-prone banks and slopes call for dense, soil-hugging carpets vs. ornamental fillers between stepping stones. If you’ll be walking on the ground cover daily, don’t use fragile specimens that resent foot traffic.
Once established, these tough, resilient groundcovers will thrive under light to moderate foot traffic while adding beauty and functionality to your landscape. They provide attractive, low-maintenance alternatives for high-traffic areas where ordinary turf grass just won’t cut it. Get ready to walk all over your gorgeous new garden!
Miniature golden sweet flag: Highlight shade-loving plants all year long
Zones: 5–9
Size: 3 to 5 inches tall and 6 to 12 inches wide
Conditions: Light to full shade but will tolerate full sun with extra moisture; evenly moist to wet, boggy soil
Miniature golden sweet flag is like sunshine in my shady garden. As I look out my kitchen window on a cold winter day, its dwarf fans of bright golden grassy leaves cheerfully accentuate the dark leaves of my hellebores (Helleborus spp. and cvs., Zones 4–9) and remind me that winter does not have to be bleak. This moisture-loving ground cover will grow in clay soil as well as sandy loam with normal moisture, and it will naturalize in bogs or at the water’s edge. I enjoy using it between stones in pathways, between wooden ties in my steps, and as a golden mat. While it is a slow grower, it makes up for that by being deer resistant.
An occasional accidental step off a path won’t hurt these plants.
These tough little ground covers can withstand the occasional trampling
Mulching the 3 acres of display and trial gardens at my perennial nursery was becoming expensive and time-consuming, so I decided to explore ground covers that would eventually eliminate the need for mulch. As I trialed numerous ground covers that complemented my perennials and shrubs, I became smitten with those plants that proved to be strong enough to tolerate both foot traffic from people touring my gardens and trampling by pets. It became obvious which ones were tough enough to withstand the heat and humidity we experience each summer, remain evergreen, and display dainty flowers for months. Here are my absolute favorites.
GROUND COVER PLANTS You Can Walk and Step On! ✅ Flowering Ground Cover Plants! Shirley Bovshow
FAQ
What is the best ground cover for walking on?
If there’s going to be any real foot traffic then a regular lawn might be a good option. If you’re willing to make a path/steps through it to reduce impact of foot traffic, then creeping thyme, dicondra repens, native violet, hardenbergia violacea, and myoporum parvifolia are all good options.
What is the toughest ground cover?
Ivy is one of the toughest, hardiest groundcovers available. Adaptable to almost any condition but dry full sun, it has saved many an “unplantable” area. It can become invasive, especially when seeds are dispersed far and wide by birds.
What ground cover tolerates heavy foot traffic?
For example: Thymus serphyllum ‘Elfin’ typically tolerates heavy amounts of foot traffic whereas Viola labradorica typically tolerates lighter traffic.
Is creeping thyme soft to walk on?
It’s Soft Underfoot: Unlike some other ground covers, creeping thyme can handle light foot traffic and feels soft on bare feet, like walking on a garden cloud.
What is a walkable ground cover?
So long, grassy lawn! These walkable ground covers (also known as stepable ground covers) are some of the best low-maintenance, low-growing, fast-spreading plants you can put in your garden paths and walkways. And the compact, creeping growth habits mean you never have to mow! Grass is so outdated.
Are walkable ground cover plants good?
Walkable ground cover plants won’t completely replace pathways and lawn areas, but they are supremely useful for filling gaps and covering areas that are tough for many other plants to grow in. From dry sunny spots to shady damp areas, there are ground cover plants that are good for walking on.
Is grass a walkable ground cover?
Here’s how it works. Grass might be the ultimate walkable ground cover plant, but even traditional lawns will wear out with too much foot traffic. Think about those brown play areas in your backyard, or how permissive paths emerge to become the main route through longer grass.
Can a walkable ground cover be used in a driveway?
While many walkable ground cover plants can cope with light foot traffic, there are few that withstand the weight and repeated traffic from cars. However, you can use many of the recommended plants in driveways, if you set them into hard landscaping pockets or crevices.
What plants make good walkable ground covers?
Creeping varieties that spread via above ground runners or underground rhizomes root well between pavers and stepping stones. Succulents like sedum and hen-and-chicks also make excellent walkable ground covers. Here are some of the best options to try 1. Thyme
How do you plant a walkable ground cover?
When planting walkable ground covers, choose a gritty, well-draining soil and space plants 8-12 inches apart depending on mature size. Leave a gap of at least 2-3 inches between pavers for the plants to spread. Set stepping stones and pavers about 1-2 inches above the soil level so the ground cover does not overtake them.