so i think i'm just going to bookmark this thread for the next million people that don't look through the forum before they ask a question, lol:
http://forums.the-bell-tree.com?topic=7100811/1/
the important part in this post (in case people decide to just repost the question at the end if this thread if they don't see a long response giving them answers):
Snow
Snow is worn away as it is walked over. Snow will start accumulating on the ground on December 10th, when it will snow all day. Both snow and grass wear away and regenerate at the same rate but when it is snow it is more visible. When snow is on the ground cracks become more visible and can be more easy spotted as they are in deep contrast to the white snow. In addition, when snow is on the ground you will find snowballs in your town that are your only way of getting dung beetles. These snowballs can also be made into a Snowman to attain Snowman furniture. Snow does not stick to any dirt patches you may have.
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Grass
When you arrive at your town, the ground will be mostly covered with grass (unless you make your town in the winter) with a few dirt spots. If you walk over the same area frequently, it eventually wears away. This appears more and more visible each time you play the game (after saving it or coming back from a friend's town.) A slower, less visible form of wear does occur even after the initial wear.
This process is significantly accelerated by running and jogging (moving as fast as you can without holding down the B button) and does more damage than walking. A little grass grows back at 6am, but if you walk/run over a certain area enough a trail will begin to form. It takes about a fortnight before a faint path becomes visible, though some players experience it sooner. It starts from barely noticeable footprints, to a clear trail after a while.
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Solutions to excessive grass loss
Some players find that after several weeks of play there's very little grass left. In the winter, complete erosion of the snow can prevent players from obtaining Snowman furniture. One drastic solution is to Time Travel forward using the Wii system clock, loading one day at a time. Simply jumping forward a few months has no effect on the grass. Your grass should be fully grown back from a complete desert in 6 months.
Another method is to place pattern paths to all the most visited places in town, using them exclusively while the grass is in a state of recovery. Note that the patterns themselves do not have an effect on the grass in any way. They are merely a tool to help players develop paths only where they are desired. Early regrowth is fragile; walking over it even once will cause it to visibly disappear. For this reason, players who use this method may have to refrain from shaking trees or digging up fossils and gyroids until the grass reaches a certain stage of recovery. Grass grows faster under trees and flowers and, for a town that has not yet eroded to the point of desertification, planting trees and flowers in problem areas may be enough to reverse or halt the damage. However, the act of walking to the flowers to water them will erode the grass you walk across to reach the flowers. Placing the flowers along the pattern paths themselves is an option while the town is in the early stages of recovery. Natural dirt spots will not grow back.
Whether you're trying to prevent future desertification or are in the process of regrowing your grass, there are are a few things that should be avoided. Unnecessary reloading of the game makes your grass more vulnerable to new wear. Not reloading is not a complete solution, however, as some additional, slower wear still does occur within a single load after stepping on a tile of grass for the first time and the grass becomes susceptible to the faster wear again after 6am. When there are multiple players of the same game file, it may be difficult to avoid reloading. In those cases, pattern paths may be additionally beneficial, as they encourage different people to take the same routes through the town. You should only run where you want a path to form. Do not use the same area repeatedly for rolling snowballs into snowmen; this can very quickly erode an otherwise untouched area of snow.
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Now that's the professional opinion about it, However, I'll post my Experience with grass restoration so you get personal opinions
What i learned is that grass restoration is very fragile and time consuming, taking up to months if your town is mostly desert, However if you like having lots of flowers in your town then your in luck, that boost the rate grass will grow, If your town is really starting to decay then its a perfect time to make a perfect town, Why?, Because you have to lay down designs to let you know were the acres are (Unless you memorize it), and the benefit of putting designs down is you can simply add extensions to fit your daily route!, I STILL find the acre markings very useful even though i've gotten the watering can 1 week ago
But i mean, the only Full-Proof plan to restore is to flat out, Time travel, ONE day each time, (Day Forward>Load>Save & Quit>Repeat), i haven't time traveled to recover but as said above even time traveling will take time.
So if you really want your grass back, then Time travel, If you want to be legit, Add Routes that lead to places you go everyday (Like nooks, Able sisters, Town hall, ect)
I Strongly recommend using Designs such as Grass or snow (For winter) so it blends in and looks less "Out of the way"
