Word for a path that already exists made by others of an archtype?

Question

I'm looking for a word here; the word for what the user made path is...

Let me tell you a story...a story about users...

When I was in college; there was a well trampled bit of grass next to the building that housed the library.

The school in it's infinite wisdom; put up a fence made of bright orange thin plastic to keep the grass growing.

A week later the fence was torn down and the grass trampled again.

Finally, a year later a sidewalk and a light were put in.

What is the original user-made path of trampled grass called?

Answer 1

Path of least resistance

the physical or metaphorical pathway that provides the least resistance to forward motion by a given object or entity, among a set of alternative paths.

Desire path

A desire path (often referred to as a desire line in transportation planning), also known as a game trail, social trail, fishermen trail, herd path, cow path, elephant path, buffalo trace, goat track, pig trail, use trail and bootleg trail, is an unplanned small trail created as a consequence of mechanical erosion caused by human or animal traffic

You’re spoiled for choice really.

Incidentally, this is also why town planning is more of an art than a science - humans gunna human.