Quick trips - just the highlights

This is the ideal time of year to paddle the Seine -- the leaves are in, the water is high and there is plenty of evening sunlight. Here are three quick trips you can do in an hour or less (and one slightly longer one) to see some of the prettiest sections:

1) Humboldt (#31 on the web site map) to Fermor and back. You'll see a lush forest, go under a few bridges, and get very close to golfers on the Windsor Park golf course. It's about 60 minutes return from Humboldt, or you can start further north at Blenheim or Moirier if you have extra time.

2) Creek Bend Rd (#9 on the map) to the perimeter and back. This is a 45-minute trip through some of the last remaining rural properties in the city, under a gorgeous forest canopy and out to the big hand statue. A great section for photographers.

3) Sioux Rd (#3 on the map) to the Red River Floodway and back. This is a 60-minute trip under a bridge, out along rural properties to the siphon that allows the river to travel underneath the floodway. You can climb up the hill and see the floodway itself, along with signage that explains the siphon.

4) If you have 80 minutes, I really recommend John Bruce Rd. (#18 on the map) to the Shorehill bridge and back. This is Bois Des Esprits (Spirit Woods), a protected forest with many deer, ducks, turtles, beavers and muskrats. There are also many people walking and cycling on the shoreline paths.