Garden paths are sentences that initially lead readers to interpret them in one way, only to reveal a different meaning upon further reading. This phenomenon occurs due to ambiguous phrasing or unexpected grammatical structures, causing confusion before the correct interpretation becomes clear. For example, the sentence "The horse raced past the barn fell" misleads readers at first. They might think it refers to a horse racing, but it actually describes a horse that has been raced. Garden paths highlight the complexities of language and how context influences understanding.