How much pea gravel do I need?
Pea gravel is 3/8 in rounded stone, sold by the ton at quarries and landscape yards and by the half-cubic-foot bag at home centers. The calculator turns your area and depth into all three:
| Depth | Sq ft per ton | 200 sq ft area: tons | 200 sq ft: 0.5 cu ft bags |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 in (top-up) | 116 | 1.9 | 74 |
| 3 in (paths) | 77 | 2.9 | 110 |
| 4 in (patio) | 58 | 3.8 | 147 |
| 9 in (play area, maintained) | 26 | 8.6 | 330 |
| 12 in (play area, installed) | 19 | 11.4 | 440 |
With 10% for settling and uneven ground, at 1.4 tons per cubic yard.
Pea gravel per ton vs per bag
Bags make sense for a small bed or a top-up: about 50 lb each, easy to carry, no delivery fee. Beyond a ton or two, bulk wins by a wide margin. Using the landscaping prices we track — about $36.50 per ton at the middle of American Rock Supply's 2026 national range and about $6 per bag — the 200 sq ft path above costs roughly $110 of bulk stone plus delivery, against about $660 in bags.
A pickup can usually carry around half a ton safely, so a 3-ton order is either several trips or one delivery. The gravel calculator adds delivery and compares truck sizes.
Pea gravel for a playground
Pea gravel is one of the loose-fill surfaces the CPSC's playground safety handbook rates for fall protection: 9 in of pea gravel protects falls from up to 5 ft. Loose fill compresses, so install about 12 in to keep 9 in, and extend it at least 6 ft beyond the equipment in every direction. For taller equipment, wood chips (10 ft at 9 in) or shredded rubber protect better.
Our take on paths and patios: pea gravel is beautiful and cheap but it migrates. Use steel or paver edging, keep it to 2–3 in so it doesn't feel like walking on a beach, and use a geotextile fabric underneath. For a firmer surface that still drains, consider #57 stone or decomposed granite — the tons to cubic yards converter compares their weights. For larger decorative stone in beds and dry creeks, use the river rock calculator.
