pathways

I have crusher run gravel (3/4" crushed granite down to block dust) for pathways around my new flower beds and dog kennels. You could fry eggs on that stuff in the direct sun. I was wandering about putting down a thick layer of pinebark or hardwood mulch to help with the heat, if not the looks. I can get either of those by the scoop into my truck --fairly reasonably priced. But taking up the gravel is not an option since it's the only thing on top of the red clay and it sort of integrates into the top of the clay and holds it from being muddy.

So is mulch a viable option? Other ideas to cut the look of gray gravel, and the relfective heat?

Mulch would probably work, but it's not my favorite for pathways because it's so messy and has a nasty tendency to float away when it rains heavily (which is often here).

Have you considered using the gravel as an underlayment for a stone or brick pathway? Maybe lay some slate pieces into it, fill in the cracks with soil, and plant some thyme or other walkable ground cover? The darker slate and the green plants will cool it down, look nice, and still not be terribly messy to walk on. And the gravel underneath will help the water stream away.

Of course this is more labor-intensive and probably more expensive.

Of course, another option is planting some shade trees along the way - but this will take some time to work, even assuming you have the space for it.

The paths are very close to the house, so I worry about trees that close.... although maybe something like Crepe Myrtals... Stone would definitely be too pricy right now. But I wasn't considering mulch floating away and we get some terrific rains in spring and summer... Mmm, might be worth it if I edged the paths with something like a landscape timber and I could ramp up the outside of the bed with just gravel to make the wheelbarrow easier.... Now i'm building raised beds for walkways.... LOL.

Another option, if you have more time than money...make your own stepping stones. Get a form (or make one) and pour in cement. There are lots of forms & patterns out there and you can decorate them to your taste.

If you do the landscape timber thing, remember to allow the water an exit, or you'll just have a stream or pond where your walkways used to be when the rains come. And you'll have to do some sediment-control on those exits for the longest-lasting solution.

If not trees, how about vines & an arbor or two? Doesn't have to be anything fancy, as long as it is strong enough to support the vines.

What about a lighter color stone/gravel on top? I had pea gravel at my last house, it was a very light color (almost white) and I never noticed a heat reflection.

I did a temperaturet test with 4 thermometers that read the same in the house for 48 hours, so I think they are at least consistent, if not completely accurate.

At 2pm -- the radio said 92-93 and I checked my thermometers:
In the sun, 1 foot in the air, over the hayfield grass -- 98degrees F.
In the shade, 1 foot in the air, under pine trees -- 89 degrees F
In the sun 1 foot in the air, on light gray gravel -- 119 degrees F
In the shade 1 foot in the air, on light gray gravel -- 111 degrees F

That was enough to send me running back in the house.

As a rule, lighter colors will reflect more heat into the air. There are some differences in amount based on the actual composition, the shape of the reflective surface, etc, but lighter will, in general, reflect heat. I don't think the rounder shapes like pea gravel reflect as much heat as the more irregular shapes of crusher run (probably something to do with the more regular pattern of reflection, so you have fewer collisions - but that's just a guess)

Darker colors will absorb heat. This means that the air above them will be cooler than above a light colored surface, but they, themselves will be hotter to walk on.

If you doubt - go out to a nice residential area with an asphalt road & cement curbs on a hot summer day and walk with a bare foot on each. Then sit in traffic on an asphalt rd vs a cement road and feel how much heat radiates off the surface.

So, for your path, What you will want is a darker color so that does not reflect the heat back at you, while making it a material that will not get too hot to walk on (if you don't go barefoot, I'm assuming your dogs do).

Mulch is nice & dark, but won't keep the heat like dark black asphalt will. As I said, my only real objection to it is the mess and the tendency to float away. Also, I guess, the fact that it gets lighter-colored over time, and therefore hotter...

Slate and other stones are ususally dark enough to not reflect a lot of heat, while still being light enough so that you can still walk on them. Home-made cement stepping stones can have as dark-colored a top as you want to make them - either by using pigment in the cement itself, or by embedding bits of tile or glass into the top. Dirt between the stepping stones holds some water and provides a nice heat-sink to help siphon off the heat collected by the stones, and greenery planted between them provides some ground-level shade to help keep them cool as well.

Have you considered just covering all the gravel with topsoil & planting a walkable ground cover like irish moss or thyme? I don't know how much traffic your paths get, but it might work for a lightly traveled path. True moss would be great, but it won't work in full sun. Even grass would be cooler than the gravel if there's any chance of keeping it green.