Support clean, healthy lakes with Clean Lakes Alliance’s 10th Annual Loop the Lake Bike Ride. Join us in person on the official Monona Lake Loop by starting and ending at Olbrich Park on Saturday, June 18th. Or, choose to ride, walk, run, or paddle virtually, from anywhere Saturday, June 11th – Sunday, June 19th.
Loop the Lake is more than a bike ride – it’s an opportunity for our community to rally around our lakes! All registered participants will receive a super-soft event tee. 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.
Join us in person on the official Monona Lake Loop by starting and ending at Olbrich Park (3527 Atwood Avenue, Madison) on Saturday, June 18th. The course will be open from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. so that riders can ride at their own convenience. Riders will travel 12 miles clockwise around Lake Monona.
About the Ride: Virtual – choose your own course (Saturday, June 11th – Sunday, June 19th)
Participants may ride, walk, run, paddle, or rollerblade along any route they choose! Share your enthusiasm for our lakes and encourage others to join by sharing photos and videos from your Loop the Lake adventure with the #LooptheLake hashtag!
Want to mimic the original Loop the Lake route? Feel free to head over to Lake Monona and follow the “Lake Loop” bike path clockwise or find a 12-mile loop in your neighborhood! You could also ride around Monona Bay, Lake Wingra, or your favorite lakeshore bike path!
Registration includes an event t-shirt, courtesy of Lands’ End. Your registration supports critical work by Clean Lakes Alliance to keep our lakes at the top of the community agenda.
Registration: $40 per in-person rider, $50 per virtual rider or in-person rider wishing to have t-shirts mailed. FREE for children 10 & under with purchase of adult registration.
Registrations are transferable but non-refundable. In the event of cancellation, registrations and sponsorships will not be refunded. Thank you for your donation to Clean Lakes Alliance!
T-Shirt Distribution
Please select your t-shirt size by Monday, May 2nd to make sure you receive your t-shirt before the event. T-shirts can be mailed to your home or business if you select the $50 ticket option. Otherwise, you may pick up your t-shirt(s) on Saturday, June 18th at Olbrich Park (3527 Atwood Avenue, Madison) from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Participant Safety
Be safe during the Loop the Lake Bike Ride! Obey all traffic laws, be careful of cars sharing the road, and wear a helmet. Participants should obey all social distancing guidelines.
If you would like to learn more about sponsorship opportunities, contact our Executive Director James Tye at james@cleanlakesalliance.org or 608-255-1000.
FAQs
What is the refund policy? Registrations are transferable but non-refundable. In the event of cancellation, registrations and sponsorships will not be refunded. Thank you for your donation to Clean Lakes Alliance!
Join us in-person or virtually Wednesday, September 14th from 8-9 a.m. to learn about an exciting effort to reimagine Lake Monona’s downtown shoreline. Register as an in-person attendee or to receive a Zoom link through your confirmation email and watch virtually.
The City of Madison has embarked on an exciting public-private partnership to re-envision the Lake Monona shoreline adjacent to downtown Madison and extending to the south side. As the first stage of this project, the City is sponsoring a design challenge in which leading national landscape design firms are competing to receive a $75,000 stipend–funded equally by the City and the nonprofit Friends of Nolen Waterfront Inc.–to prepare a conceptual master plan for a shoreline park from Machinery Row to Olin Park. Fourteen firms have responded to a Request for Qualifications. The Lake Monona Waterfront Ad Hoc Advisory committee, which is comprised of thirteen community members, will select three firms to submit conceptual master plans, from which the committee will recommend one firm to contract with the city to prepare a detailed master plan of the proposed park. Allen Arntsen, who chairs the committee, and Mike Sturm, who is the principal staff for the committee, will provide an overview of this Design Challenge effort and the Lake Monona Waterfront planning process.
About our Speakers
Allen Arntsen is the Chair of the City of Madison Lake Monona Waterfront Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, which has been charged with selecting a consultant to prepare a master plan for the Lake Monona Waterfront extending from Machinery Row to Olin Park. A retired attorney and longtime Madison resident, he has been involved in numerous civic activities over the past forty plus years, including serving on the City Council, Plan Commission, Community Development Authority Board and Alcohol License Review Committee, along with many other city committees. In addition, he has chaired the boards of several nonprofit organizations, such as Downtown Madison, Inc., the Madison Public Library Foundation, Madison Development Corporation and the Barrymore Corporation. He currently serves on the Friends of Nolen Waterfront board.
Mike Sturm is the Madison Parks Division project manager for the Lake Monona Waterfront planning initiative. He is a UW Madison graduate and registered landscape architect and has lived and worked in Madison since 1995. His previous projects include the Elizabeth Link – Peace Park renovation, State Street bus shelter competition, Irwin A. & Robert D. Goodman Skatepark in McPike Park, and Penn Park shelter improvements.
Event Details
This event will be held at The Edgewater hotel – grand ballroom level 5 (1001 Wisconsin Pl, Madison, WI 53703). Doors open at 7:30 a.m. The program runs from 8 – 9 a.m. A Q/A session will follow the presentation as time allows. Complimentary event parking will be available at The Edgewater parking ramp. Parking spots fill up quickly and may be limited depending on hotel capacity.
A Zoom link will be sent to all registrants via the Eventbrite confirmation email.
In 2021, our volunteers embarked on the 9th 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 took water quality measurements. They 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.
Join us online on Wednesday, December 8th to hear from two UW-Madison Civil and Environmental Engineering senior Capstone teams as they present their culminating designs for two lake-friendly improvement projects.
Since 2016, Clean Lakes Alliance has worked in partnership with the UW-Madison Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department to support student capstone projects focused on designing more accessible and lake-friendly parks, beaches, and community spaces. Senior Capstone Design is a required course for all civil and environmental engineers at UW-Madison and serves as the culminating work of their undergraduate degrees.
Clean Lakes Alliance, along with CG Schmidt, is proud to be a sponsoring partner of these student capstone projects. While Clean Lakes Alliance serves as a “client”, the students work diligently all semester to apply their acquired expertise to inspire the community through unique project designs that advocate for healthy lakes and beaches. With 48% of the shoreline owned by the public and 25 beaches in the Greater Madison area, this is an excellent avenue to elevate a variety of project opportunities for the students and the community. In this month’s Clean Lakes 101, you’ll be presented two unique projects in the Madison area:
Plaenert Drive/Wingra Creek Revitalization
John Nolen Drive Redesign
Project Details
Project 1: Plaenert Drive/Wingra Creek Revitalization
This project is located along Wingra Creek in southern Madison, Wisconsin. The creek is bounded to the north and south by W. Wingra Drive and Plaenert Drive, and Fish Hatchery Road and S. Park Street to the west and east. To highlight the importance of waterways within the heart of Greater Madison, the creation of an inclusive and inviting greenspace and park setting is the focus of this project. By providing an alternative route design for Plaenert Drive, this allows for development of a park setting on the south side of Wingra Creek.
This project aims to improve and protect Madison’s water resources while involving the community in its development. Phosphorus reduction is at the forefront in enhancing water resources and continuing to establish Madison as a ‘green city’. Enhancing water quality, sustainably protecting the shoreline, improving access, and improving placemaking of the region is incorporated into every aspect of the project design. This region will provide a space for the community and environment to seamlessly interact by featuring many amenities including a viewing platform over Wingra Creek, pedestrian path, and non-motorized boat launch for creek access.
Project 2: John Nolen Drive Redesign
John Nolen Drive across Lake Monona serves as the primary gateway to downtown Madison. To reflect the significance of the causeway, our objectives are to improve recreation opportunities for users, manage runoff to minimize negative impacts of stormwater, address shoreline erosion from waves, and improve aesthetics and landscaping along the causeway. Our designs seek to improve water quality, increase sustainability and access, and to enhance placemaking. The improvements for the bike and pedestrian path will create a significant positive recreational impact on the community’s transportation network and remind users that Greater Madison values green infrastructure and the lakes.
The bike and pedestrian path final design includes a 16 ft wide pedestrian boardwalk stretching the southern half of the existing bike and pedestrian pathway, use of recycled materials, and the inclusion of several surface level and underground stormwater management techniques. Alongside the boardwalk there is a two-lane bike path, two 225 sq ft outlook points along the boardwalk, and a 625 sq ft capital outlook point. In addition to the boardwalk, this alternative includes amenities such as bike racks, benches, emergency call boxes, signage, local art, coastline steps for increased erosion control and recreational use, and landscaping.
Design images of Project 1 and 2 respectively seen below:
Plaenert Drive and Wingra Creek RevitalizationJohn Nolen Drive Redesign
Meet the Students
Chase Cummings is graduating from University of Wisconsin-Madison in December 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He has worked as a Civil Engineering Intern for HNTB and has focused on field inspection and plan design. After graduation, he will work for HNTB in Madison, Wisconsin as a Field Engineer.
Michael VerVelde is graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in December 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with Certificates in both Business and Entrepreneurship. He has worked as a Civil Construction Field Management Intern for Bechtel on two nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle in Georgia and expanding the AT&T 5G system in Northern California. After graduation, he intends to continue working for Bechtel as a Civil Field Engineer either nationally or abroad.
Nora Rickman is graduating from University of Wisconsin-Madison in December 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering with a certificate in Sustainability. She worked as a Civil Engineering Intern for MSA Professional Services and focused on field and office work on road reconstruction and greenfield development projects. After graduation, she will work for MSA Professional Services in Marshfield, Wisconsin as a Civil Engineer.
Matthew Humbert will be graduating in May 2022 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Science in both geological engineering and geology and geophysics. Matt has first-hand experience working in an agricultural research setting collecting data and preparing lab tests. After graduation Matt plans on working in the geotechnical field on issues involving water resources and sustainability.
Riley Hughes is a geological engineering student graduating in the spring of 2022 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s in science in Geological Engineering, a major in Geology and Geophysics, and a certificate in Engineering Energy and Sustainability. She has prior internship experience working as a geotechnical/field engineer working across the United States on preliminary and final wind and solar investigations. She will begin working full time with Westwood Professional Services in Westminster, CO starting July 2022.
Freddy Koth is a civil engineering student graduating in the fall of 2021 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s in science in Civil Engineering with an option in Environmental Engineering. He has prior internship experience as a field inspector and project designer on WisDOT transportation construction projects. He will begin working full time with DARR Engineering in Wausau, WI starting January 2022.
Brandon Hungelmann-Skiba is a civil engineering student graduating in the spring of 2022 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s in science in Civil Engineering with an option in Environmental Engineering and an additional major in Economics. He has prior internship experience as a pavement inspector and technician performing work on reports for the DOT and FAA. He will begin full time with Applied Pavement Technology in Waunakee, WI starting January 2022.
Jordan Nolle is a civil engineering student graduating in the spring of 2022 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s in science in Civil Engineering. He has prior experience working as a field technician to perform lead contamination tests, both in soil and in groundwater. Jordan will begin working full time in Madison, WI starting June 2022.
Lauren Kinchla is a civil engineering student graduating in the fall of 2021 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s in science in Civil Engineering and a certificate in Environmental Studies. She has experience in property management from her internship in Boston, MA. Lauren is searching for full time engineering opportunities after graduation in January 2022.
Event Details
This event will be held online via Zoom. The online talk is free and open to the public. A link to access the talk LIVE will be sent to all registered attendees ahead of the event.
Local Madison area photographers share their view of our lakes
The Greater Madison area often tops lists of best places to live. One of the reasons frequently cited, is our lakes. We talked to five photographers in the Madison area and found out what they love most about photographing the Yahara lakes. Read more from the photographers, and see a sampling of their work – as they feature different views of our watershed.
Close to half of the Yahara Watershed’s shorelines include public lands and parks. Here are a few hidden gems, which happen to be some of Clean Lakes Alliance’s favorite spots to enjoy our waters!
In 2020 water quality monitoring took place at piers and beaches around the five Yahara lakes. Volunteers measured near-shore water clarity, air and water temperature, and noted several visual observations during the monitoring season, which runs from May to September.
Although the most beloved beaches and piers are popular for good reason, there are also some hidden gems around the watershed that may just become your new favorite as we practice social distancing!
Loop the Lake VIRTUAL Bike Ride: Choose your own course!
We’re going VIRTUAL! Support clean, healthy lakes wherever you are for Clean Lakes Alliance’s Loop the Lake VIRTUAL Bike Ride.
Our annual bike ride around Lake Monona will look a little different this year as we follow social distancing guidelines. Instead, we invite you to bike, walk, run, canoe, or simply MOVE for our lakes from Monday, June 15th through Sunday, June 21st.
All registered participants will receive a super-soft event tee. 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.
Loop the Lake 2020
Monday, June 15 – Sunday, June 21, 2020
ANYWHERE!
$35 per rider
FREE for children 10 & underwith purchase of adult registration
A shared vision for clean, safe, and accessible lakes
In August 2019, leaders from government, business, and nonprofit organizations came together with a shared vision. The vision included a future in which Greater Madison’s five Yahara lakes are clean, safe, and accessible for everyone. Together, the 19 partners and collaborators formed the Yahara CLEAN Compact and committed to sharing resources and working together to curb pollution and chart the best path forward to cleaner, healthier lakes.
Support clean, healthy lakes with Clean Lakes Alliance’s 12th Annual Loop the Lake Bike Ride, presented by Lake Ridge Bank. Loop the Lake is 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.
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+)
Fun and educational stops (see information below)