The Importance of Keeping Your Walkways Free From Ice

Keeping up with snow and ice protection isn’t just about shoveling the driveway once a storm passes; it’s about having a snow and frost protection game plan that keeps your landscape walkable, safe, and ready to bounce back when the thaw arrives. When done well, that plan reduces the risk of slipping, prevents damage to plants and hardscapes, and saves you from scrambling every time the forecast changes.​

Why Winter Safety Matters

• National data shows that more than 13 ER visits for falls on snow or ice occur for every 10,000 winter ER visits, and over 20% of those falls involve a strain, sprain, fracture, or dislocation.​
• Analyses of weather-related injuries indicate that approximately 97% of winter slip injuries are associated with icy conditions, emphasizing the importance of ice control around homes and businesses.​

Snow and Frost Protection for Plants

A good snow and frost protection strategy starts with your planting beds and any exposed infrastructure. In the Louisville and Jeffersonville area, we recommend winterizing landscapes by insulating exposed pipes, any irrigation lines, and your vulnerable plants before temperatures plunge.​

• Water before a hard freeze: Well-hydrated soil holds heat better than dry soil, helping to insulate roots when temperatures fluctuate and preventing some freeze–thaw stress on trees, shrubs, and perennials.​
• Mulch for insulation: A 2–4 inch layer of mulch around trees and perennials buffers roots from rapid freeze–thaw cycles, reduces erosion, and can limit premature sprouting during mid-winter warm-ups.​

As Louisville has shifted into USDA Zone 7a, winters can feel milder overall. However, the region still sees sharp cold snaps and polar events, which make layered snow and frost protection even more important for long-term plant health.​

Keeping Walkways Clear and Ice‑Free

The best way to keep up with snow and frost protection is to pair your plant protection with consistent attention to paths, steps, and drives. It’s important to start snow removal as soon as accumulation begins if you are able, because fresh snow is easier to clear. When it compacts and turns into a slick base layer, it becomes more difficult to remove.

• Shovel early and often: Clearing the full width of walkways and entries reduces the chance that melted snow will refreeze into slippery ice sheets overnight.​
• Use the right de-icers: Pre-treating with salt brine or liquid de-icers can help prevent ice from bonding to concrete and stone. Post‑storm applications help break up any remaining patches, and sand or kitty litter can help add traction to prevent falls where black ice lingers.​

Certain places, like steps, shaded walkways, slopes, and parking areas can need extra attention, since studies show roughly a quarter of ice and snow-related falls happen there. Adding anti-slip treads, handrails, or better lighting in those trouble spots can help improve safe winter footing.​

Designing a Walkable Winter Hardscape

Good hardscape design makes snow and frost protection work more effectively every winter as well. We want to highlight the value of well-planned walkways and patios that manage water effectively, encourage proper drainage, and are wide enough for comfortable and safe movement.​

• Favor durable, textured materials: Properly installed pavers, concrete walks, and steps with some surface texture offer better traction and hold up better through repeated freeze–thaw cycles and de-icer use.​
• Plan snow storage and drainage: A designated spot to dump snow and ice away from entries and paths, combined with grading that directs meltwater off walkways, helps prevent refreezing into hidden ice sheets in areas you walk often.​

Landscape rock, edging, and planting bed design can also support winter safety by keeping loose materials off paths and clearly defining the boundary between planting beds and walkways. That clear edge makes it easier to see when surfaces are dusted with snow and it’s harder to tell where pavement ends and your yard or planters begin.

Building a Proactive Winter Routine

The most reliable snow and frost protection plan is proactive, not reactive. In regions with frequent freezes(like ours), researchers have found slip-and-fall rates up to three times higher than in milder climates, which makes being prepared worth the effort.​

• Before winter: Winterize irrigation and exposed pipes, refresh mulch around beds, tighten handrails, and check lighting along walkways and entrances.​
• During storms: Shovel or blow snow as it falls to keep your walkways and driveway clear, and continue to treat surfaces with appropriate de-icers to prevent ice from forming.​
• After storms and thaws: Recheck any shaded or sloped areas, scrape leftover slush before it can refreeze, and inspect for new settlement, cracks, or drainage issues in your hardscape that could worsen over time.​ We can help fix these issues before they become a significant problem.

Your Snow and Frost Protection Plan

Approaching winter with an easy-to-follow snow and frost protection plan helps create a landscape that stays walkable, safe, and resilient through every freeze and thaw. We at Walnut Ridge are here to help you have a safe and easy winter. Please reach out with any questions you may have, we are happy to help!