There's a water maze near Ottawa where you can paddle through over 6 km of winding canals

If you're looking for a fun outdoor activity near Ottawa to make the most of summer before it's gone, look no further than this aquatic maze just 40 minutes outside the city.

After all, what's more fun than the puzzle of venturing turn after turn, trying to find your way through a maze? If you're not quite ready to let go of summer and embrace the standard farm corn maze, you can paddle through this aquatic labyrinth surrounded by the beauty of nature instead.

This amphibian maze has over 6 kilometres of meandering trails within a 70-acre wildlife preserve. The carefully maintained Éco-Odyssée Nature Park was built to help provide local beavers with a safe and clean habitat where they can live alongside humans.

The water maze allows nature lovers to rent out (or bring their own) kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and pedal boats and traverse the carefully constructed series of canals through lush marshlands. It's truly a one-of-a-kind experience that allows you to fully become one with nature while supporting the local beaver population!

The idea of Eco-Odyssée's one-of-a-kind water maze is inspired by the very beavers who inhabit the park. When beavers fully settle into their new home, they build an interwoven network of underwater canals that resemble what humans would refer to as a maze — thus, the idea of the water maze was born.

The maze itself is spread out through 6.4 kilometres worth of marsh, with over 64 intersections to give maze-goers a run for their money. While venturing through all those twists and turns, you may be lucky enough to run into otters, deer, turtles, frogs, turkeys, bald eagles and, of course, beavers!

There are various difficulties of the maze to complete, which means there's plenty of reason to come back over and over again and try to up the challenge each time. Visitors are recommended to start with the Wanderer package for $45 per person.

Each package comes with all the essentials you'll need to traverse the maze, like a life jacket, boat of your choice, paddles and an adventure map that'll help guide you through the labyrinth. Traversing the maze takes roughly two hours, so make sure you bring water, sunscreen and bug spray with you on your adventure.

If have your own watercraft that you'd rather use, you can bring it along and get $5 off. There's also an option to venture through the maze at night for $50 per person, which is perfect for a romantic evening of watching the sunset.