Flagstone paths
Flagstone is flat, split stone with a natural face. It comes in irregular shapes that fit together like a puzzle, or cut into squares and rectangles for a more formal look. Irregular stone suits a path winding through the pines down to the water. Cut stone suits a straight run from the driveway to the front door.
Thicker stone holds up better under feet and the odd wheelbarrow. Thin flags crack if anything under them settles.
What's under the stone
A walkway in New Hampshire is only as good as its base. The topsoil comes out, the ground underneath gets compacted, and crushed stone goes in a few inches at a time with each layer tamped hard. A thin setting bed goes on top so each stone sits solid.
Skip that and frost does the rest. Wet soil under a path freezes, swells and lifts the stones unevenly, and the walkway that looked fine in October has trip edges by March.
Gravel, sand or mortar between the stones
The gaps between stones can be filled a few ways. Pea stone or stone dust gives a loose, natural look and lets water drain through. Polymeric sand sets up firmer and holds back weeds better. Mortared joints over a concrete slab look the most finished.
In frost country, dry laid stone on a good base is the more forgiving choice. If a mortared walk's slab heaves or cracks, the joints crack with it, and fixing one stone means chipping out mortar. A dry laid stone can just be lifted and reset.
Stone steps
Steps take more care than a flat path. Every riser in a run should be the same height and every tread the same depth, because feet expect it. The one uneven step is the one everybody trips on.
Steps can be big granite slabs, flat fieldstone treads, or built into a pair of walls where a path climbs a bank. Every kind follows the same rules: a solid base under each tread, a slight pitch so water runs off, and nothing that rocks.
Paths down to the water
On a lake lot the path to the dock is often the most used walk on the property, and the steepest. A long slope can get a path that switches back, or steps every so often with flat landings between. The stone has to handle wet feet, pine needles and spring runoff.
Walkways count as impervious surface under New Hampshire's shoreland rules within 250 feet of a lake. On a lot that already has a lot of roof, driveway and patio, a new path near the water can need a permit or a different design. Check with NHDES before the work starts.
Winter on a stone path
Pick stone flat enough to shovel. A snowblower and a deeply textured flag don't get along. Go easy on rock salt, which soaks into stone and joints and breaks them down over the years. Sand gives grip and is easy on the stone.
