Tag:highway=path

+/- highway=path Description A generic path. Used on these elements Useful combination access=* surface=* sac_scale=* width=* Implies motor_vehicle=no emergency=destination Used combinations in World Australia/Oceania Europe (list) Asia (list) Central America (list) South America (list) Africa (list) Status Approved

If you are mapping Public Rights of way in the UK (specifically England and Wales) see UK public rights of way.

A route open to the public which is not intended for motor vehicles, unless so tagged separately. This includes snowmobile trails, ski trails, hiking trails, horse trails, bike trails and paths, mountain bike trails as well as combinations of the above and other modes of transportation.

These routes may have any type of surface.

The default access restriction of highway=path is "open to all non-motorized vehicles (motor_vehicle=no), but emergency vehicles are allowed (emergency=destination)". (Although it depends on each country what vehicles are allowed by default).

This tag is used for paths for which all and any of highway=footway, highway=cycleway and highway=bridleway would be inappropriate or inadequate (or simply not sufficient), but which are nonetheless usable for travel or navigation. They might be not intended for any particular use, or intended for several different uses. Intended uses can be indicated with the access=designated keys.

If a path is wide enough for four-wheel-vehicles, and it is not legally signposted or otherwise only allowed for pedestrians, cyclists or horseriders, it is often better tagged as a highway=track.

Examples

A path for bicycles, horses, snowmobiles, and cross-country skiing could be tagged as:

• highway=path
• bicycle=designated
• horse=designated
• snowmobile=designated
• ski=designated

A UK bridleway could be tagged as:

• highway=path
• horse=designated
• foot=yes
• bicycle=yes

⇒ Photos of several examples can be found at /Examples

Rendering

Implemented in Mapnik (thin dashed black line) and Osmarender.

A highway=path with any of horse=designated, bicycle=designated, foot=designated can be rendered equally to a bridleway, a cycleway or a footway, if desired.

There is a proposal to agree on a extended rendering scheme for any highway=path without one of those.

See also

• Hiking
• Tag:highway=track about roads for agricultural use, gravel roads in the forest etc.

Related terms: route. avenue. pass. street. road. passage. trail. track. path.