Question
I may soon be buying a property that includes about 4 wooded acres. I would like to create a dirt walking path through the area. Can you recommend a relatively cheap and easy method to clear the path without making too much impact on the area?

Answer
Hi, Anthony - Is your parcel hilly? flat? Are there lots of rocks, or heavy undergrowth (like brambles of blackberries or wild roses with THORNS!) or does this acreage just have a smattering of vegetation under a dense canopy? If it is hilly, then you may need switchbacks and steps to get up to desirable spots.  Flatness may mean you'll have to add an elevated surface (maybe just wood chips) to avoid soggy spots.  Impact is relative.  I抦 not suggesting you "log" the four acres, just enhance what is already there, by cleaning it up a bit.

What an adventure!  4 acres is quite a bit or real estate to explore.  Cheap & Easy, huh?  I've used just a machete to clear a pathway, or a more robust brush-whacker for the tougher vegetation.  If you have access to a chipper, it makes nice mulch for any future pathways, too.  I've even just used a regular push-mower set on the highest wheel-setting and pushed it through the vegetation - Be sure to watch out for ROCKS (also POISON OAK, SNAKES, & BEEHIVES, etc.)  Also, wear eye/ear/face protection!!  Mowers throw a lot of debris around.

Sometimes just walking a path with a chainsaw, chopping up the dead & down vegetation as you go (and pushing it off to the side or hauling it out for later use as firewood) is all that is needed to "open up" the understory.  Lately, I have been "designing" & "building" trails for the National Park Service, and that is all we mostly do...We just walk an area and look for the most accessible route, and clear it with simple tools.  (Other Park Service folks, please don't chastise me for being so blunt!)

My other suggestion would be to meander the path, and avoid a straight route.  I'm sure there are already existing paths, either created by the previous owner or by wildlife.  Just improve on what is already there, and try and have a "destination" in mind - a creek-side clearing, prominent rock outcropping, bridge, or overlook area.  

When I lived on several wooded acres, our kids really enjoyed a simple pathway I created to a hidden tree-house & swing next to a brook with a foot-bridge.  I added a log-staircase later, after the pathway became too slippery in the wetter parts of the year.

All the best ~Marc