The East and West River Roads that line the Mississippi as it cuts between Minneapolis and St. Paul couldn't be any handier if they had been designed by distance runners. They have hills, a couple of them steep enough for serious hill work. The paths feature enticing scenery as well as relief from worrying about cars for miles on end. And runners can choose among a series of bridges to vary the length of their runs. Starting with the Ford Pkwy. bridge near Minnehaha Falls, for instance, you can lay out looped routes involving the bridges at Lake St., Franklin Av., Washington Av., the Stone Arch Bridge, 3rd Av., Hennepin Av., Plymouth Av. or even go all the way to Broadway Av. mnmississippiriver.com