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June 15 @ 9:00 am – 2:00 pm

2024 Benefit Bike Ride

Support clean, healthy lakes with Clean Lakes Alliance’s 12th Annual Loop the Lake Bike Ride, presented by Lake Ridge Bank. It’s an at-your-own-pace bike ride around Lake Monona on Saturday, June 15th that raises funds to protect and preserve Greater Madison’s lakes. Make a day of it while you enjoy entertaining and educational activities at many parks along the route.

Register for the 2024 Loop the Lake Bike Ride to benefit the lakes

Event details

Cyclists of all ages and abilities navigate the scenic 13.8-mile loop around Lake Monona.
🚲 Saturday, June 15th
🚲 Starting & ending at Olbrich Park (3527 Atwood Avenue, Madison)
🚲 Course open 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. (optional group start at 9 a.m.)
🚲 $45 per in-person rider, kids 10 and under ride free with a paid adult
🚲 Get a group to ride – purchase 6 adult registrations for the group rate of $200

Registration includes

🚲 Fun and educational stops (see information below)
🚲 Super soft t-shirt, compliments of Lands’ End
🚲 Food cart item
🚲 Free beer or seltzer, courtesy of Bell’s Brewery (21+)

Loop the Lake is more than a bike ride – it’s an opportunity for our community to connect with our lakes! Event proceeds will support Clean Lakes Alliance’s work to protect and improve our lakes through on-the-ground projects, educational programs, and water quality monitoring.

You can also choose to ride, walk, run, or paddle from anywhere, at any time! Register for the virtual option for $55 and we’ll mail your shirt!

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Stops along the route

  • Schluter Park – Get a sweet treat from Monona Police
  • Winnequah Park – Eduction station with Aldo Leopold Nature Center – learn about small aquatic critters in our lakes
  • Arrowhead Park – information coming soon!
  • Grand Crossing Park – hear the salsa band, Orquesta SalSoul
  • Off Broadway Drafthouse – get a free root beer float and water, or purchase a cold beverage
  • Olin Park (join us in the wedge between the park and the bike path) – visit with Friends of Nolen Waterfront and enjoy a water station
  • BB Clark Beach Park – enjoy water and snacks
  • Hudson Park – learn about the history and significance of this sacred site from expert guides from Ho-Chunk Nation and UW-Madison in this special effigy mound educational stop
  • Olbrich Park – enjoy a free food cart item from one of Greater Madison’s favorite food carts
Learn more about Loop the Lake

Thank you sponsors!

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Become a sponsor
$45 – $55

Clean Lakes Alliance

(608) 255-1000

View Organizer Website

Olbrich Park

3527 Atwood Ave.
Madison, WI 53714 United States + Google Map
6082664711
Register to Loop the Lake

Image 3 - Offshore monitor training

LakeForecast water quality monitoring in 2023

Clean Lakes Alliance’s LakeForecast water quality monitoring program completed its 11th season in 2023. This program is entirely volunteer implemented, with 90 trained monitors assessing water quality conditions from nearshore and offshore locations across all five Yahara lakes (Mendota, Monona, Wingra, Waubesa, and Kegonsa). From Memorial Day through Labor Day, volunteers recorded water clarity, air and water temperature, waterfowl presence, extent of floating plant debris, and the severity of green algae and cyanobacteria at public beaches, lakeside parks, and private piers. Submitted data can be seen in real-time on lakeforecast.org or our free app allowing the general public to stay up to date on current lake conditions.

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Photo courtesy Dane County Land & Water Resources Department
Lake Wingra and Henry Vilas Park
Lake Wingra and Henry Vilas Park

Henry Vilas Park (Lake Wingra)

Henry Vilas Park is one of Madison’s oldest lakeside parks, and provides a gathering place along Lake Wingra for swimming, fishing, and even ice skating when the lagoon freezes over. The park was created from a 1904 donation from Wisconsin’s U.S. Senator, William Freeman Vilas (1840-1908), to the Madison Park and Pleasure Drive Association, an organization committed to the development of parks and scenic drives in the Madison area in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Vilas also served as U.S. Postmaster General and Secretary of the Department of the Interior under President Grover Cleveland. Henry Vilas Park is named in memory of William’s son who died in childhood.

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Fishing along Monona Bay

Out-of-town anglers drawn to downtown Madison lakes

Spend time walking along Lake Monona between Law Park and Brittingham Park, and you’ll notice anglers tossing lines from plenty of places. Unfortunately, there is a lack of accessible shoreline fishing locations. Folks fishing have to contend with hazards like the wall at the Monona Terrace or the railroad tracks…which are actually illegal to use for fishing. Still, the challenges of fishing on Lake Monona do not seem to stop diehard anglers from spending time doing what they love.

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2022 Clean Boats, Clean Waters
Download a pdf of the 2022 Clean Boats, Clean Waters Season Report

Overview

In 2022, Clean Lakes Alliance received a Wisconsin DNR Surface Water Grant to participate in the Clean Boats, Clean Waters (CBCW) program. CBCW is a state-wide aquatic invasive species (AIS) prevention program. The program increases awareness and education to boaters, anglers, and general lake users on best practices to prevent the further spread of AIS at our local boat landings. 

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Nine days of Frozen Assets

We had so much fun throughout the nine days of Frozen Assets 2023 and we hope you did too! More than 8,000 lake enthusiasts from near and far joined us for science demonstrations, musical performances, ice skating, food and drinks, ice sculpture carving, a chance to try new winter activities, face painting, networking, a chance to run or walk in the only 5K on a frozen lake in North America, and more! We THANK YOU for supporting lakes Mendota, Monona, Wingra, Waubesa, and Kegonsa!

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Lake enthusiasts from near and far joined us at Frozen Assets 2023 for science demonstrations, music, a 5K on a frozen lake, and more!

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May2022 Training with FOLKS

LakeForecast water quality monitoring in 2022

 In 2022, our volunteers embarked on the 10th season of LakeForecast water quality monitoring. This work involved collecting nearshore condition reports at piers, beaches, parks, and access points around the five Yahara lakes. From May through September, volunteers measured water clarity, recorded air and water temperature, identified the presence of green algae and cyanobacteria, and noted additional visual observations. Reports are entered into the LakeForecast app where all data are updated in real time.

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Aquatic plant transport barge on Lake Mendota

By Pete Jopke, Water Resources Planner with the Dane County Land & Water Resources Department
Article first published in the 2022 Greater Madison Lake Guide, a Clean Lakes Alliance publication

Aquatic plant harvesting on the Yahara lakes

The Dane County Land & Water Resources Department manages an aquatic plant harvesting program with much of the harvesting occurring on lakes Mendota, Monona, Waubesa, and Kegonsa. Occasionally, other smaller waterbodies are harvested to aid in recreation and invasive plant management. The program dates to the early 1980’s when five harvesters were in operation. In those years, harvests totaled over 300 tons of plant material. In 2021, the existing fleet of 12 harvesters recorded plant harvests of more than 12,000 tons!

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