Gravel is forever. Consider those poor future gardeners who'll have to live with the nuisance, once you've left the scene. Placing gravel is akin to burning a bridge.
I deal with the weed/grass problem like this: We have bare soil paths between beds. I don't want to mow those paths, or use herbicides, or lay paper or gravel. So once the weeds/grasses start coming up in late spring, I'll wait for a forecast of dry, warm days ahead. Then I take a shovel and systematically scrape strips of the soil by pushing the shovel away from me, scalping a thin layer, 6 to 12 inches long and about 4 inches wide, 1 inch deep, and turn that strip over while it's on the shovel blade, leaving the roots turned up and the green more or less buried beneath. Then I do the same with the adjoining strip, etc., gradually working backwards down the path away from where I've been.
Eventually, and without much effort or time spent, all those young weeds and grasses lie turned upside down with their roots cut and exposed. Then I don't walk on that surface for as long as possible. The sun dries the exposed roots and the grasses/weed seedlings die.
Since they are young and vulnerable, they won't resprout after being dry.
The result is a nice mulch later in the season, which keeps further weed germination at bay.
It's important not to walk on the loosely turned slabs of soil, so as not to compress the root systems. If they are walked on and then you get some rain, the grass/weeds recover and continue to grow.
It's a bit tricky with the timing. But it's really not a lot of work (on our silty loam soil.) You push the shovel away from your body. You bend only as far as is comfortable. The weight of the scalped slabs depends on how wide or deep a slice you take.
