Live from Canoecopia: Why you Love Our Lakeshore

Friends of the Apostle Islands booth with Jill Rennicke behind the table 2025

March 8, 2025

Love Our Lakeshore logo with Friends lighthouse silhouette and website address friendsoftheapostleislands.org

During this challenging time of change for our nation and for our national parks, Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore wants to shine a bright light – a lighthouse beacon if you will – on this very special place and on the people dedicated to protecting the national lakeshore for future generations. That’s the goal of our series entitled “Love our Lakeshore.” (You can tell us why you Love Our Lakeshore by filling out our simple form at this link.)

We’re meeting tons of people who Love our Lakeshore at Canoecopia, 2025, under way this weekend in Madison, Wisconsin. They’ve got a lot to say about the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and why they love it.

The Apostle Islands National Lakeshore is a world-class destination for people who love paddling. It offers miles of clear blue water and 21 islands to explore. On those islands you’ll find amazing hiking trails, beach-side campsites and of course the world-famous sandstone sea caves carved by centuries of action by water and wind.

See you at Canoecopia 2025, March 7-9 in Madison - Jeff Rennicke image of a kayaker framed by a sea cave

This weekend, Wisconsin plays host to another mecca for people who love paddling. It’s the world’s largest consumer paddlesports show, known as Canoecopia. Thousands of people gather to attend dozens of educational presentations happening in meeting rooms around the show floor. And when they’re not doing that, they’re talking to people who make everything from sea kayaks and paddles to camping equipment and more. You’ll also find organizations including Wilderness Inquiry and Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, meeting people who love the outdoors and explaining how to get involved.

Jeff and Jill Rennicke at Canoecopia 2025 in Madison

Jeff and Jill Rennicke at Canoecopia 2025 in Madison

This year, you will find the Friends booth on the show floor. You’ll meet Friends board members as well as Executive Directors Jeff and Jill Rennicke. They’ll. be happy to share their love for the lakeshore as well as information on how we support the park. You’ll also be able to see up-close one of the solar-powered Wave Watch buoys that helps us provide real-time wave and water temperature conditions at five key locations in the lakeshore. Water safety in the park is one of our ongoing priorities, as it is for the National Park Service. And you can learn about our Starry Skies Initiative to protect the night sky.

During this time of change, we want to spread the word about the immense value the park brings to a quarter million visitors every year and to the regional economy. That’s why we’re asking, “Why do you Love Our Lakeshore?”

Canoecopia show hours are Friday: 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., March 7-9, 2025. For more about the event, click here. Be sure to stop by and tell us why you Love our Lakeshore. We’re adding your photo comments to the slideshow through Sunday. 

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