Creating a solid pathway through murky, sandy or shifting soils, a boardwalk creates a safe place for strolling. These simple, utilitarian landscape solutions can transform just about any exterior surface into a usable — often beautiful — walkway.

I recently stumbled upon a beautiful city park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where boardwalks jut into the marshes of Wildwood Park, creating a peaceful walk through an otherwise inaccessible landscape.

Let's take a closer look at this park; it might just inspire you to add a wood walk to your own backyard retreat. Amy Renea Inspiration

Wildwood Park has miles of usually inaccessible marsh, but it also has miles of boardwalks that make it a welcoming environment. The boardwalks curve around the natural lines of the land, jetting out into the marshes at intervals to provide visitors the opportunity to see wildlife up close. Sceltas Build + Consult Do you have an inaccessible part of your yard? A boardwalk could help transform it into a welcoming retreat. Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture Garden Design for Boardwalks

If you want a tall, lifted boardwalk, integrate plantings that just brush the walk. If the plants are too short, the boardwalk will feel unanchored. If the plants are too tall, it can feel claustrophobic. Arterra Landscape Architects Your plant choices expand if you design a boardwalk low to the ground. In this case, you can pretty much work with plants of any height. Just don't impede foot traffic with aggressive, horizontal growers. Ferns and other woodland plants are the perfect height and shape for a boardwalk.

More plants for pathways Ron Herman Landscape Architect If possible, design the boardwalk around the existing plantings. Trees can provide the basic outline for the boardwalk and provide a ceiling for visitors strolling along the path. Boardwalk Styles

Here, a wide deck-like boardwalk helps frame the home and garden, grounding the home to its site. Christopher Yates Landscape Architecture A boardwalk can help bring diagonals into a circular or straight space. These intersecting boardwalks provide movement to the left of the space while creating the opportunity for a water garden at the top of the frame. Noel Cross+Architects Consider installing planking for practical purposes, aesthetic appeal or to get closer to the wildlife that lives nearby. Whether you choose weathered pine or redwood, stained finishes or a natural glow, boardwalks can give your space a whole new vibe and a whole new purpose.