Thanks for visiting the IPC at Canoecopia 2026!

IPC had another great year at Canoecopia 2026, the “largest paddlesports consumer event in the world.”

This year, four of our Board members, Christine Chabot, James Tracy, Anthea Halpryn and Scott Hays presented “From Towering Skyscrapers to Cypress Swamps: Paddling Illinois Rivers” highlighting the diverse paddling opportunities across the state, from Lake Michigan and downtown Chicago to the Cache River, one of the northernmost cypress swamps in the US. Both sessions were well-attended with lots of audience questions and even lots of followup questions from those in attendance after the presentation.

We truly enjoyed meeting all of you, paddlers that are old friends and many new paddlers who wanted to know about the IPC and mostly where to paddle in Illinois. We also shared information about our new River Access Law , HB 5165, which you can read about here on our blog page.

Again, this year our most popular attraction was the IPC dam simulator, which shows – over and over again – the hazards of low head dams – a common problem across Illinois. It was informally voted ‘Best in Show” by several visitors and young people were particularly impressed.

If you were there, we were glad to meet you and if you signed up, we’ll be reaching out and posting soon, and if you didn’t make it, well, maybe next year! It’s a great event and a great way to connect with other paddlers, learn more about our sport at the informational sessions and even pick up the latest gear or a new canoe or kayak!

Thanks to all!