I doubt the roots are killed. I’d bet it comes back.

 

You should be fine. I’ve been walking on frozen grass in my yard for years and never noticed any long term issues. Sure, it doesn’t bounce back from footprints like when it is actively growing but it’s not like you’re killing it. Just curious where you heard about this being a concern?

 

Hey Tgreen, I didn't really hear it being a concern from anywhere in particular, but when I searched the topic online it seemed like the opinions were all over the map from, never walk on frozen lawn, it'll do long term damage, to it's not really that big of deal so was just kind of curious.

And like you, I've walked on my frozen lawn before too from taking down Christmas lights to chasing my dogs around the back yard and hadn't really noticed any ill effects either. So that's what sort of got my mind turning about the subject. I guess this was just the first time I really noticed what it can do in the short term, but that could also be because I've become more and more of a lawn care enthusiast over the years and notice things now that I never would have thought twice about.

 

I did this to my dads yard at around 12 years old. Think about it every time i see frost. Pretty sure it grew back in spring. Thankfully for my sake.

 

It's funny b/c it seems like this topic has become an urban legend on this forum and with some of the youtubers. If it were true, you'd have to believe that every high school and college sports field in the northern US would be killed by games in late November/ December.

When I saw your post, I took the pic below. These are my footprints in minus 10F temps servicing the bird feeder. I'm going to watch this area very closely to see if it exhibits any stress in the spring. I can tell you that generally, my lawn looks great in the spring despite walking all over it in the winter.

The problem comes when it gets hot and humid and night time low temps don't get below 70........

 

It's funny b/c it seems like this topic has become an urban legend on this forum and with some of the youtubers. If it were true, you'd have to believe that every high school and college sports field in the northern US would be killed by games in late November/ December.

When I saw your post, I took the pic below. These are my footprints in minus 10F temps servicing the bird feeder. I'm going to watch this area very closely to see if it exhibits any stress in the spring. I can tell you that generally, my lawn looks great in the spring despite walking all over it in the winter.

The problem comes when it gets hot and humid and night time low temps don't get below 70........

Yeah that's a great point about the high school and college sports fields getting play in the colder months. Never really thought to connect the dots on that. And now that I think about it I've seen Connor walk on his lawn in UT all winter long for years on YouTube and his lawn always seems to recover and look great. He never seems too worried about it .

You'll have to post an update on the area around your bird feeder come spring so we can see what it looks like.

 

There is a period of time in early winter that walking does cause some visual damage, but not permanent. It is around early December when the grass is still growing and it was moisture inside the leaf. You get a freeze/frost and walk on the grass, then it will look like the op images.

 

And again in late Winter, it's more susceptible as the ground is in the process of freezing or unfreezing, (as mentioned in another recent topic).

I think the dead grass issue is most common with repeated traffic, which is why we want to minimize it if possible.

I hope everyone will post photos and updates of their walked-on areas over the next few months to see how they recover.

 

I believe Thor865 had a post in his journal this past winter with footprints like that and it ended up being fine. That’s the crappy thing about notcing things more, the deeper down the rabbit hole you go. I have never seen footprints, aside from in the snow, irritates me to no end but it should be good come spring.

 

Your lawn will be fine. Here in MO where frosts can happen both in the fall and spring where the grass is still active, I have walked on the lawn despite trying to minimize it till the frost burns off. You won’t notice in the spring after a cutting or two. Grass is very resilient and is designed to live through harsh conditions or we would be reseeding constantly.

 

Golf courses call this factor a “freeze delay” meaning that when temps are around 30-35 degrees, they delay sending out golfers, in order to avoid EXACTLY the photos seen there…brown footprint kill spots.
Not sure if golf courses do this to avoid cosmetic damage (tan footprint) or KILL, but I have heard that it in fact “damages” the turf.
Excellent question re repairability!

 

I would think that the more traffic there is, or the heavier it is, as well as the shorter the grass is, the worse the outcome could be. Since golf courses cut well under an inch, it probably doesn't help since there isn't anything to absorb shock. Plus, that would be a lot of heavy traffic if players in carts were allowed. On the other hand, having someone walk once or twice on a residential lawn that's mowed higher than an inch might not be as bad unless you get unlucky with conditions. That's why we should get follow up photos over time.

 

Same thing happened after I drove my SUV across the yard last winter . I was dropping off some heavy supplies for a project.. After the second mowing you couldn't tell the tracks were ever there.

 

I’ll definitely post some follow up pics of the tracks come spring when we thaw out here in Iowa. Right now I just wish we’d get some snow cover so I didn’t have to stare at them every time I walk by. Kind of an out of sight out of my mind thing with me I guess.

Happy New Year everyone!

 

Happens to me every couple of years when we get cold snap that spans both day and nighttime that catches me off guard. Overnight frosts don't really impact my sprinkler timers, but when it's well below freezing for a 24hr period, it can break the timers when ice forms in them. Always forget about it until I see the yard all crunchy after the sun comes up and in my oh shit moment, go out to disconnect them....walking across the yard to do so. Happened this year despite being a warm winter so far (except 2-3 days). I've never seen any lasting impact from my feet or where various wild animals take a rest in the yard. Here's this year's from before Halloween.

 

Finally starting to warm up here and the lawn is starting to wake up so I thought I'd give a quick update on the frost tracks I had in the yard back in December. As you can see from the current photo of the same area you can't really tell there was anything there at all. Maybe some faint footprints closer to the neighbors property line? Hard to tell. This has also been mowed once so far. But overall by the looks of it, it doesn't appear the lawn suffered any long term damage and is coming out of winter dormancy pretty well to be honest. Hopefully everyone else faired just as well.

 

I've had footprints from deliveries during the winter and they always disappear after the turf gets going in the spring.