Celebrate Our Region's Greatest Assets the Yahara Chain-of-lakes with Clear Lake Alliance's Frozen Assets

Reading time: 10 minutes  Last Updated:  01/21/26

What makes Southern Wisconsin a vacationer's destination, year after year, season to season? Our lakes.  Summertime is swimming, boating, windsurfing, volley ball, sailing, and hanging out at the beach.  Winter brings the cold hardy outdoor enthusiasts, ice fisherman on Monona Bay and Lake Kegonsa, Ice boaters, fat tire bikers, snowshoers, cross country skiers and hikers with the common drive, testing their endurance and thrilling in the moment realized when standing in the middle of a lake something not achievable any other season.  That spirit of living on the edge and celebrating the middle of winter is everything Clear lakes Alliance's Frozen Assets is about.

The Clear Lakes Alliance (CLA) was created in recognition of what invaluable, irreplaceable resources each lake in our region are. Celebrating its 14th year Frozen Assets Festival is CLA's event to raise money for their organization and their restoration, rallying, and education efforts on behalf of the Yahara Chain-of-lakes. To date Clear Lakes has raised over $1.3 million in total. This year's event offerings should look very similar to the 2020 festival with much of the same family oriented activities in place. This six day event which began on Monday February 1st concludes on Sunday, February 8th with a 5k walk or run across Lake Mendota. This year's course will take participants from the base of the Edgewater Hotel to the UW Memorial Union waterfront, over to Picnic Point and back to the Edgewater.

And, this Friday families can enjoy skating all day at the Edgewater Hotel's ice rink to music.

Saturday, February 7th is when most of the events happen. Look to the sky as the kites return to chilled air above Lake Mendota. Enjoy snow shoeing, ice sculptures and much more.

Location: Edgewater Hotel and Lake Mendota, 1001 Wisconsin Pl, Madison.