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If your ball lands on a cart path, or so close to one that your normal stance for the shot you would take would require you to stand on the cart path, you are entitled to free relief. It falls under the category of 'abnormal ground conditions'.
You are not required to take relief.
Before deciding to take relief, you need to consider whether the position of the ball after taking relief, might be in a worse position (even though not on the path).
Find the nearest point of relief from the condition (e.g. cart path). This is not necessarily where you might prefer to play the ball. It is a single and precise location.
e.g. the ball has come to rest on the left edge of the cart path (for example Hole#3).
If you are a right handed player, the closest point of relief from the cart path is probably with the ball a couple of inches from the path. You can stand to make your shot on the strip of grass.
Your stance may be in the penalty area (it is not a no-play zone on hole#3). However, you are taking relief from the abnormal ground condition of the cart path, so standing in the penalty area is not a factor.
The closest point of complete relief is where the ball would be for a stance with the club you would have used for the shot (not likely to be your longest, non-putter club).
If you are a left handed player, your stance should be just off the path and the closest point of complete relief is where the ball would be for such a shot. Note that the ball must be within the general area, so if your normal stance off the cart path for the shot you would have made means that the ball would be in the penalty area, that is not a point of relief so you need to find another point for the ball that provides relief.
It is not relevant that the ball would be close to the penalty area and the weeds might get in the way of your swing or your shot.
You can put a tee or other marker at the closest point of relief.
From the closest point of relief, you can now measure an arc of one club length centred on that point that is not closer to the hole and is completely within the General Area (not bunker, penalty area etc). This may be a small arc (not necessarily a semicircle or quarter circle), and you may use any club in your bag except the putter.
Be aware that this closest point of relief may not be ideal. It could be in rough, impeded by overhanging branches or other reason why it would be impractical to take relief at that point. If you decide to proceed with taking relief, you can now pick up your ball. Up until this point, you have not been obliged to take relief. Your alternatives are to play it where it lies, or take relief from an unplayable lie which costs one penalty stroke, but provides other alternatives such as back on a line from the hole through where the ball was sitting on the path, as well as lateral relief.
Drop the ball (from knee height) so that it comes to rest in the area of the arc. If necessary, you may need to drop more than once to get the ball to stay in that area and making sure that your stance is not again impeded by the cart path.
If another condition is now in effect (your swing could be affected by a (non-boundary) fence (such as the right hand side of Hole#4 you may decide to take relief from that condition also. It qualifies as an immovable object.
Take whatever stance you have and play the shot.
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