Yes, another option mentioned by a yard guy was to remove the ivy withing 5 feet of our house as well as along the perimeter of our property, and just trim the rest down. He suggested we could put pavers, stones, or something else down to create a nice path in those areas.
This perimeter path actually sounds like something we'd want long term, and leaving the rest of the ivy keeps the other options open. One area with ivy (not pictured) is almost level, and we may remove the ivy in just that area while leaving it on the steeper sloped areas.
Then again, I seem to change my mind w/each suggestion, so we'll see...
