I was considering doing something similar to our 'lawn'. Most of what I've read sounds good, but it appears that durability is a pretty big problem with clover. Everything I've read says to install footpaths.

I'm pretty sure a dog, wheelbarrowing, and that sort of thing would kill it off in my yard. I'll be interested to see what other people have to pipe in.

Most clovers sold as alternative ground cover are actually invasive weeds. Most people fighting with it to get it out of their lawns or their farms. It make be eco-friendly in the sense that it is very low input but on the other hand, using introduced alien pest species is not very eco friendly.

There is someone here that has tried it. I think they might have been in the lawn forum. You can try searching both here and there for their results. (The clover didn't make it)

If you don't want a lawn there are better alternative ground covers to use.

What would be some good alternatives? I need something that will grow in partial sun/ partial shade and be very low maintenance, and also stand up to the occasional picnic and family soccer game. Pipe dream? Maybe so. Or maybe I've already got it in my mix of weeds and don't even know it- haha!

I use a mix of fine fescue. Including creeping red (native) and hard fescue. Even though this type of grass is not widely used in our area nor does it have the reputation for being particularly traffic tolerant, I have had great success with it. This is my second year with it and this year expanded where I am growing it to all but the front yard. I've got nothing but great things to say about it. It can be low maintenance if you want or it can tolerate more maintenance for an even nicer appearance. Drought tolerance from this past summer was simply remarkable nothing short of a miracle. I have two dogs and we play fetch and other games on it daily and it has held up better than tall fescue. The key though is I mow the grass short and fertilize at regular intervals. Tall fescue doesn't tolerate being mowed shortly nor does it repair itself. I chose varieties that did well in trials in NC. It was planted a bit densely too. I made a slideshow/pics of it for the lawn care forum and a link to it is below.

Most people that use fine fescue in our area do so in a blend with tall fescue. They will add it for shade tolerance. I haven't done that.

I can't attest to it's long term performance just yet but I am very pleased with it. So far no diseases.

There are some other native grasses like little blue stem. I haven't used it personally so can't comment.

Zoysia sod is relatively low maintenance. But I don't care for warm season grass personally. I like having grass that is green and beautiful all 12 months of the year and that won't spread aggressively into my planting beds. I also can't stand having to mow when it is really hot out. I prefer grass that is most actively growing during fall and spring when being outside is enjoyable. Especially since I use a manual reel mower and enjoy the peace and quiet and lack of gas fumes as well.

I will add that I will likely switch to organic (natural) fertilizer for the fine fescue.

Here is a link that might be useful: slideshow of my fine fescue

I went crazy and planted tons of clover seeds, but they onyl came up in certain patches. I like how it looks( even if it's against neighborhood policy to plant it( hahah!)
Actually, it looks really cool under the moonlight, with a glowing silvery green color. Plus it's like living fertilizer constantly adding nitrogen to the soil... I plan to fill in even more. I planted the crimson clover varriety.

Esthermgr, I'm always glad to read what QQ has to say on lawns and am still taking notes myself. I do actually have some experience with a "clover lawn," though, so offer it up. We're still waiting to move a mobile home off our land and grade and put in a lawn where it is, and I planted white clover around it in the meantime. It's doing fine and I'd plant it again but don't expect to use it permanently instead of lawn. But then again, in the right place I could see doing just that.

First off, white clover, which is planted over large areas of this country for pasturage, would likely be what you wanted for a clover lawn. Red, like Herboil's, is gorgeous in flower but grows taller and doesn't like our summers as much. On the other hand, as she says, the foliage is very pretty and it is gorgeous in bloom... Anyway, you can purchase as much seed as you need of either variety very inexpensively at any farm supply store.

The white makes a very pretty and extremely lush sward with a reasonable amount of water, but actually grows a bit too rich and high for walking around in with lots of it. I'd get soaked halfway to my knees last spring strolling around out there in the early morning. I didn't try mowing it to make it lower, just enjoyed strolling around in a green salad.

In any case, this last summer's drought did that for us, especially when I decided I had to stop watering, but although drought shortened and thinned it out considerably, it's still out there. We're in the low 20s in this area these days, and it's been cut back by the cold, thin and low to the ground but still green and obviously just waiting its chance to pop back up. In town I imagine it'd still be a fairly nice green blanket.

It is a creeper and will move into your flower beds if you don't keep it out. It'll stand up to the occasional soccer game, literally standing back up by the next day I'd think, but you do need paths for frequent routes, because traffic makes it creep low to the ground, determined to hold on by keeping its head down. Lots of traffic, uhuh. If kids kick it up while playing, tho, it'll creep back over.

You do have to control the growth of grasses and other weeds in it. Since I wasn't mowing and my area isn't large, I did that by pulling them out manually as I strolled around with my morning coffee. If perchance you needed to be doing something else with that time, a preemergent herbicide that targets thin-leaved weeds and spares clover, also available at the farm supply house, would be what you needed.

The flowers are sweet and lovely but do attract bees, something I regarded as a great plus for the sake of the few bees we saw this last summer, but it could be a problem for children at play. And, of course, it's helpful if you like the idea of having clover flowering in a permanent lawn, as I do, because it might be bothersome to eradicate.

Not knowing whether the drought is behind us or not, maybe supplementing your existing green stuff with clover this spring might be a temporary way to go. The plants already in place that have proven they can endure, weeds or otherwise, are worth holding onto while these conditions continue.