Dirt Paths in - Animal Crossing City Folk (Wii)

If you want your Animal Crossing town to look great, it is best to create dirt paths.

Also if you play this game all the time, running everywhere, your town could eventually become a desert, which means you no longer have grass. Your grass slowly gets destroyed. If you create paths, then you have main routes to run on, meaning you WALK everywhere else. (saving your town from desertification)

I don't have a desert, here is a link of a town that is almost a desert, but there apparently is still some grass (i couldn't find a picture of a town that had a full desert and I don't plan on destroying mine just for a picture) -
http://media.photobucket.com/image/desert%20animal%20crossing/GNuts/Animal%20Crossing%20City%20Folk/2009_1/2009_1_15/RUU_0182.jpg?o=5

Step 1: Designing Your Paths

To create dirt paths, you have to lay down designed patterns for you to run over everyday, so the first thing to do is to figure out what your patterns are going to look like. (you ARE going to have to live with them until your paths form, so they might as well look nice, right?)

So I would hope that you would know this by now, but you click on the pencil on the bottom of your screen, click on one of your patterns, select Edit Design, then design your pattern.

I prefer to have street patterns or different colored checkered designs for my pattern paths. I don't like streets though, because you can't make diagonal roads.

Tip: DO NOT use stripes, because they give you headaches while playing.

Step 2: Laying Down Your Patterns

Now that you have your patterns, you get to lay down your paths. This isn't the funnest thing to do. You need to go throughout your town and figure out where you want your paths, then lay down your patterns.

You click on the pencil (on the bottom of your screen), click on your pattern, and then click on 'Display on ground' where you want your path to be.

You put your patterns all around your town, until you are satisfied with your results on where your paths will be.

Note: When I made my paths throughout my towns, I built tree orchards with paths around them.

If you don't know what a tree orchard is, here is what the animal crossing community website says a tree orchard is. (I just copied and pasted) ---->

How to Make Orchards

Orchards look really nice in your town, and you won't have a bunch of scattered trees. You can either have them all representing one fruit (or bells), or just have them together randomly. Your choice!

1) First, make sure you have a big open area, with no houses, other trees, or empty space house signs.
2) Get any fruit (or bells) and in any amount (Recommended: 8+)
3) Then, as if the floor around you is a grid, dig holes like this:

Key:
X - Dig holes and plants trees
O - Empty space

XOXOXOXO
OOOOOOOO
OXOXOXOO
OOOOOOOO
XOXOXOXO
Note: You can go on as down and far as you like in this pattern.

4) Plant the fruit in the holes!
5) Wait for it to grow into a wonderful new orchard for your town!

Credit to - http://www.animalcrossingcommunity.com/accf_tree_guide.asp

My orchards are a little different. They don't have one of the trees on the side you run by, they have 3 flowers there. Kinda like this :

Key:
X - Dig holes and plants trees
O - Empty space
F- Flowers
= - path

XOXOXOX
OOOOOO
OXFFFXO

========================

I find these better, because most websites say that the inspired town has flowers right on the edge of the paths, but I don't run perfectly, so my flowers get destroyed if i do that. So i either place the normal Orchard on the 3rd circle away from my paths and place flowers all infront of the trees, or use my orchards only 2 circles away from the path.

Step 3: Run

Run over your paths everyday and over time if your start picking up your designs here and there, you will see paths forming under them.

Here are some pictures of paths forming in my town.

Remember
No to running on grass
Yes to walking on grass
Yes to running and walking on paths

Oh, and if you run outside of your path a lot, then your path will widen.

Tip - If you have damaged spots, I've heard that putting flowers there can help your grass grow back faster (3 months with flowers is what I've heard)

I have also heard that If you time travel ahead, then all your grass will be fixed. I don't know how many months ahead, but my guess is more than 3.
My guess from that: I guess that if you time travel alot, not like a day or week but a lot ahead, then your dirt paths will disappear, since your dead patches have pretty much the same reasoning of being as dirt paths.