diff --git a/src/SMAPI.Toolkit/Utilities/PathUtilities.cs b/src/SMAPI.Toolkit/Utilities/PathUtilities.cs
index 48a0e780c..8e194a2d0 100644
--- a/src/SMAPI.Toolkit/Utilities/PathUtilities.cs
+++ b/src/SMAPI.Toolkit/Utilities/PathUtilities.cs
@@ -71,10 +71,13 @@ public static string[] GetSegments(string? path, int? limit = null)
 #endif
         public static string? NormalizePath(string? path)
         {
-            path = path?.Trim();
             if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(path))
                 return path;
 
+            // check for trailing space in directory before trimming
+            if (!path.EndsWith(" "))
+                path = path.Trim();
+
             // get basic path format (e.g. /some/asset\\path/ => some\asset\path)
             string[] segments = PathUtilities.GetSegments(path);
             string newPath = string.Join(PathUtilities.PreferredPathSeparator.ToString(), segments);