Fall has always been my favourite season. There is something so beautiful about the leaves turning canary yellow, pumpkin orange and tomato red. This medley of colors against a backdrop of blue sky is hypnotic in its beauty. I feel like God decided to let loose and have fun by throwing a little paint around everywhere.

One of my fondest memories growing up is the fun we had raking leaves. My little brother use to go out first and spend the whole day raking. But he wouldn't make piles. Instead he would use the leaves to design and create a maze. It was an annual event, that even the neighbours children grew to look forward to and they would usually spend the whole day, up in their tree-house peering over at my brother, waiting anxiously till they could come over. Once he was done, everyone including my parents, would line up one behind the other and take turns, trying to find their way out without once looking up. (There were no walls, so if you looked anywhere else than your feet you would immediately see the exit!)

My brother has since grown up and seized creating colourful mazes out of dead leaves. Yet out of this experience I've grown to love mazes and seek them out wherever I go. It is for this reason that I had to visit the Outaouais countryside when I heard of the Eco-Odyssée adventure. The latter is no typical maze. It is made of 6 km of water trails with 64 intersections and shaped like an eagle.

It was the dream child of Michel Leclair, an environmentalist from Québec. He wanted to create an adventure that would get families out together into nature. If that weren't enough, he's made the maze into an educational experience in disguise.

To get around the water trails, you need to get on board a paddleboat. There is room for four people, ideally two adults and two children. Every safety precaution is taken as all participants are required to wear life jackets and are given walkie-talkies that are in direct contact with the welcome centre. Participants are also given a compass, a laminated sheet with clues and a book about the wildlife from the area. It's like geo-caching, but with a good old compass instead!

Within minutes of entering the water maze, I find myself immersed in the calmness of the marsh. The waters are still, reflecting only the cumulous clouds in the sky and the panoply of colourful bordering trees. Surrounded by blue dragonflies and enveloped in the sound of crickets, I've finally escaped the city.

At every intersection, I'm greeted by a variety toads, snakes or ducks – all fake of course! To find the way out, I have to read the clues and then recognize the correct animal. One wrong turn, and it's game over. Luckily, there is a beginner's level where additional clues tell you that you're on the right path.

As a nature lover, I've always been a keen observer and so I have no problems differentiating the mink frog from the leopard frog from the pickerel frog. Okay, so maybe I had a little trouble… But really, the greatest difficulty is in manoeuvring the paddleboat! I spend the first 20 minutes going around in circles while Michel stands laughing on the bridge. I'm particularly mortified because moments earlier we had both laughed about how city people don't know how to use paddleboats.

So whether you're an environmentalist, a nature lover, a maze aficionado or someone who just enjoys getting outdoors and enjoying the fall colors, spending a day at the Eco-Odyssée adventure is the perfect way to spend the day having fun with family and friends.

For more information check out www.eco-odyssee.com.