Top 5 Put-ins

Here are, depending on water levels, the five best places to put-in along the Seine (always check water levels before you go):

1. Blenheim Ave. (#32 on the map). A lot of shoreline here and decent street parking nearby. If you go south (upstream) to Fermor and back, it's a leisurely 80-minute return trip with beautiful scenery through two golf courses and under five bridges. The only hazard is a very low bridge/culvert that is doable if the water is low, or is a very quick out-and-in portage if the water is high.

   
   

2. John Bruce Rd (#18 and #18a on the map). Some decent street parking on the west side of the bridge and you can choose between an accessible dock or the adjacent shoreline. Heading south (upstream), there is a 90-minute return trip to the bridge at Shorehill Drive and back through the fabulous Bois Des Esprits. There are often lots of turtles and deer, and you will sometimes come across a beaver, snapping turtle or muskrat. There are many carvings in trees you can see if you get out and walk along the footpath, and plenty of people out for a stroll through the forest. One big caution: Dead Man's Curve greets you within the first 10 minutes or so. It's rocky, narrow and sometimes blocked by low-hanging branches or fallen tree limbs. The current speeds up, too, for a short stretch. It's been passable many of the times I've been through, otherwise it's a fairly easy portage.

3. Happyland Park (#36 on the map). Some street parking nearby and a nice easy shoreline to put-in. From here, you can head north (downstream) and back in about 2 hours and marvel at how much green space there is when you are so close to downtown. You'll go under a few bridges are arrive at the mouth of the Seine, where it dumps into the Red. Caution: This section can be too low in dry weather, and is often not doable after early July. There is also a narrow alley with rebar and a bit of a vertical drop (#39 on the map). It may require a very short portage.

4. Sumka Rd (#6 on the map). This lovely put-in features a natural slip immediately south of the perimeter. It's down a small hill from the street parking, and you can choose to go downstream past The Big Hand (#7 on the map) and take great pictures at Photog's Corner (#8 on the map) in a short 45-minute round-trip. Or, you can head upstream through rural Crown land and properties and see the Culvert of Doom (#4 on the map). Do not go through the culvert. Its ceiling drops in the middle and there can be debris. That's a roughly 80-minute round-trip.

   
   

5. Sioux Rd (#3 on the map). Street parking nearby and a few bits of shoreline to choose from. It's south of the perimeter but still inside city limits. You can head south (upstream) through rural properties on a short 60-minute return trip to the Siphon (#1 on the map), where the river pops up from under the floodway. You can get out and walk to the Duff Roblin trail, where you will see signage explaining the floodway and associated infrastructure.