We investigated the nature of the control mechanisms at work during goal-oriented locomotion. In particular, we tested the effect of vision on the geometric and kinematic properties of locomotor trajectories. The subjects had to start from a fixed position in the laboratory and to walk towards a distant target indicated by an arrow. No instruction was provided with respect to the path to follow. In the visual trials, the target remained visible during the whole task, while in the nonvisual ones, after an initial observation period, the target was removed and the subjects had to complete the task with eyes closed. We first observed that the average trajectories recorded in visual and nonvisual locomotion were highly comparable, suggesting the existence of vision-independent processes underlying the formation of locomotor trajectories. Then, by analyzing and comparing the variability around the average trajectories, we were able to demonstrate the existence of online feedback control in both visual and nonvisual locomotion and to clarify the relations between visual and nonvisual control strategies. Based on these insights, we designed a model in which maximum-smoothness and optimal feedback control principles account respectively for the open-loop and feedback processes. This model could reproduce the statistical properties of the experimentally observed trajectories. Taken together, the experimental and modeling findings provide a novel understanding of the nature of the motor, sensory and "navigational" processes underlying the body displacement in space.