CanoeSport Fireside Adventures
Winter 2025
Fireside Adventures return this winter! This season's focus is all about the comeback of our our Adventure Travel Trips in 2026! Come learn about the trips, hear the stories from past trips, and get excited to plan your adventure in 2026!
Tybee Island Skills and Adventure
Date: November 29 - 2pm
CanoeSport has been guiding and offering classes on Tybee Island for over 10 years. Join us for pictures and stories of past trips including our trip from Nov 3-7 of this year. Learn about the ‘triangle’ and how we use it to train students for rough water conditions. You’ll also see how we introduce trip participants to surfing skills and how to handle larger waves while gaining a better understanding of tides. Jeff will include highlights from his eight day Georgia coastal trip from Cumberland Island to Tybee Island and back, a distance of almost 200 miles.
Speaker Bio:
Jeff Holmes began publishing Canoeing Iowa Magazine in the fall of 1988 and started CanoeSport Outfitters in the spring of 1992. He discontinued the magazine in 1996, to focus on the retail business and the rental business at Lake Ahquabi State Park. Jeff has been certified as a seas kayaking coach with the British Canoe Union, a Level 4 ACA Coastal Sea Kayak instructor, is an adjunct instructor for the University of Iowa, and is a Level 2 Kayak Instructor Trainer Trainer. He's solo kayaked the Everglades and circumnavigated the North Core Bank in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In addition, he's kayaked the coast of Texas, Mississippi, Vancouver Island, and Georgia along with numerous trips on Lake Superior. He's canoed the Boundary Waters and most rivers in Iowa and whitewater kayaked on the St. Louis River, Kettle River, Nahntahala River, and Green River in North Carolina.
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Exploring Everglades National Park
Date: December 6 - 2pm
CanoeSport is heading back to the Everglades in 2027! This presentation is all about the sand, the Islands and the sunshine. See pictures and routes from past trips and learn why we rarely see gators or snakes on our trips! The bugs can be a nuisance but the sunrises and views from the shoreline make it worthwhile. Shireen will be sharing details about the 2027 trip so you can start preparing to join us for a fun adventure.
Speaker Bio:
Shireen Cave started paddling in 2008 as a stepping stone to other adventures. She got hooked on paddling and since then has been one of the main guides of CanoeSport's adventure travel trips. She has guided trips to the Apostle Islands, Louisiana Bayous, the Everglades National Park, stretches of the Mississippi River, Tybee Island, GA, and many local day and weekend trips. For over 10 years she has taught kayaking and stand up paddling at the University of Iowa and each year leads a trip to Lake Powell for spring break.
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Paddling the Mighty Mississippi River
Date: December 13 - 2pm
John has paddled many stretches of the Mississippi River along the Iowa border. See these trips through pictures and hear about them through hi entertaining stories. Experience going through a lock and dam as a paddler and learn what sloughs are and how they benefit the river ecosystem. Shireen Cave will end the presentation by sharing details about CanoeSport’s own May 2026 Mississippi Trip including the route, dates, and other details.
Speaker Bio:
John is a regular participant in project AWARE, organizes natural history tours of forest and prairie preserves, and leads eco tours on Lake Red Rock for CanoeSport Outfitters. He has acquired his Level 3 ACA Coastal Sea Kayak Instructor certification. He also recently started his own outdoor blog. John has paddled the Ozarks, the Okeefenokee Swamp, Isle Royale, Puget Sound, Yellowstone Lake, the Everglades, and the Texas Coast among many others.
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Lake Powell - 'paddling the canyon'
Date: December 20 - 2pm
Shireen has guided over 10 trips to Lake Powell in Utah for the University of Iowa and visited the area as a paddler and a few personal trips as well. Come see the wonders of Lake Powell, hear the funny and entertaining stories that come from paddling with college students, and learn how the river turned into a lake. See pictures that just can’t do justice to the views of the canyon and the lake and hear why it’s one of Shireen’s favorite places to paddle.
Speaker Bio:
Shireen Cave started paddling in 2008 as a stepping stone to other adventures. She got hooked on paddling and since then has been one of the main guides of CanoeSport's adventure travel trips. She has guided trips to the Apostle Islands, Louisiana Bayous, the Everglades National Park, stretches of the Mississippi River, Tybee Island, GA, and many local day and weekend trips. For over 10 years she has taught kayaking and stand up paddling at the University of Iowa and each year leads a trip to Lake Powell for spring break.
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Our winter session of Firesides has ended
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That doesn't mean we're not going to continue sharing more trips and adventures!
* Iowa Paddlesport Expo March 7-8 will be the next opportunity to see and experience presentations on trips and paddling related topics.
* Check back in the spring for a new series!
See ya on the water!