California Canoe & Kayak

Went in on two occasions looking for a pair of kayaks.
First people talked to seemed to know a little about what they were talking about. We’re in a hurry to sell me and wife and did find a couple of options that we felt might work.
Left to think about it.
Went back next evening.
And got the dreaded sales person.
This guy did not listen!
He talked about himself and only himself.
Guess he’s the oldest kayaker in his circle .
Did not care about my wife’s needs, in fact ignored her to the point I had to say” hey let’s find something for her first”!
Did that help absolutely not lol.
At that point I tried to explain what I wanted… I guess what I wanted was not what he wanted to sell me.
Then the manager said hi!
Ahhhh my chance to get someone to listen to us. NOPE !!! He told oldest kayaker. his words not mine to take us to the ware house where he shied us the kayaks he uses for white water kayaking !
We were in for touring yaks !
He finally «told us what we were going to buy». I finally decide to leave.
If you want to hear some good stories, and if your female and want to be ignored !
I guess this is your place!
We bought elsewhere !
Mike F

I would recommend this team of business for anyone to buy a kayak or two. I was so happy with the quality of service that we received. Jeff and your team are outstanding. They all work together as a team working with the customers. Thanks for all you did for us and we are coming back to add to our kayaks

I have rented from them the past couple of years for Eppies race. They have been prompt and consistent with their service. Everyone who has answered the phone has been nice and helpful. They also had good advice on which kayak to use and what works well for the race. I will come back to them for next year as well.

Everybody was extreme pleasant and helpful. They took the time to help me choose the right kayak based on my experience and skills. I finally splurged and got a roof rack based on their recommendations. Additionally, Pat helped me mount the Kayak and taught me the right way to tie it down.
Would definitely recommend CCK to all. Their demo program is phenomenal.
Overall, a great experience.

Loved this place. I had been researching for months. I should have gone here first. David was so helpful and knowledgeable. He never made me feel like I needed to buy anything, like the other shops. I was surprised to hear about there demo program. 300 $ and your encourage to try any kayak for 90 days to find the right kayak. When your finished the money goes towards a purchase. David also saved me money by fitting the correct roof rack for my car.

My wife and I recently purchased some kayaks and accessories from CC&K. We hit a few speed bumps in the beginning, but the measure of a business shouldn’t be whether or not they make mistakes (show me one that hasn’t), but how they respond. I’m here to tell you they really do care, and they want their customers to continue coming back and to be happy. We had shopped around and found we got the best deal in the area from CC&K. They have a variety of classes and a «Moonlight Kayak» outing that sounds fun. We’re signing up for the latter and we look forward to paddling Lake Natoma at night! David was the person who helped us buy most of our equipment. David was knowledgeable and engaging, and he seemed to really enjoy his job. Jeff is the manager at the store in Rancho Cordova, and he was a pleasure to deal with. Jeff intervened when we hit those «snags» and he stepped in right away. He listened to our concerns, discussed options with us, and in the end suggested a path forward that not only resolved our concerns, but showed us how much they do care at this store. CC&K also has a demo program and they rent kayaks at some of the local parks. They’ve got a lot of boats in the store to check out and too many accessories to name. It’s also nice to see they have several locations, including one out in Half Moon Bay, a favorite place of ours to visit. We took our boats out for the first time this past weekend and had a blast. A special thanks to David and Jeff for working so closely with us. We would absolutely recommend CC&K and suggest you check them out, especially if you’d like more of a personal touch. All of the guys seem to be paddlers and can talk you though everything, including kayaking in the area. I can honestly say I didn’t get the same from other stores, like REI, where I had trouble just getting someone to answer a simple question.

We came up here to visit my father who was purchasing a kayak. These guys were so helpful in finding all the right items that we needed. We were taking my 3 little kids out and they got us set up with great life jackets and told us a good place to go with the kayak. My dad said that he rented one prior to buying it from them and had nothing but good to say about this place.

Went to their Coloma outpost for two days of Kayaking lesson for my son and I. Everybody in the store was super helpful and very accommodating to our schedule. Our instructor Lydia was wonderful. She took the time to explain everything in detail, was able to work with my son’s natural talent and my complete lack of any and all the while making sure we were safe on the river. We learn a ton and got to do a couple of short runs down the river. Next time we are in town, we will continue our kayaking, we will go to CCK and request Lydia.

I was in the market to get a SUP for a Christmas gift and I did not know where to go. thankfully a friend referred California Canoe and Kayak to me as she lives near their location and drives by them daily. I just have to start by saying that this place is definitely is as good as it gets.
I was greeted at the door and started asking the guy questions since I did not know exactly what I was looking for. He gave me the run down of their inventory and helped explain the differences between the different boards they carried.
I took some time on my own to look their inventory over and went back over to ask a few more questions. The original guy whole helped me was with another customer so I started chatting with their employee Jeff. This guy must be a SUP encyclopedia. He really went into great detail about each board and their differences. I did not feel like I was being sold. He was genuine and extremely helpful.
I felt like I got a great deal on the paddle board and bag I bought and to top it off they are allowing me to keep the board there until after Christmas (since hiding that bad boy would not exactly be the easiest thing).
Great selection, competitive pricing, and awesome service. What more can you ask for?! They also offer lessons, etc. They are the complete package.
It was a pleasure doing business them and look forward to future purchases. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this place.

This place rocks!
We had two instructors who, between them, have over 25 years of kayaking experience.
Taylor was a total brah, but in a great way! He’s super funny and laid-​back, but also really really good at his chosen sport. He’s even lobbying for Yosemite to legalize kayaking, so fingers crossed on that one.
Bryant was the older dog of the two, but really interesting as well. He knows a lot about the physics (given he has a physics degree) of the water and explains it well enough for normal minds to comprehend.
We even bought them a couple pitchers of beer after the second day of the 101 class (which was FU**ING SWEET!) and poked a bit at Bryant’s tendency to say, «mmmkay» like Mr. Garrison from South Park.
I don’t think we could have asked for a better, and safer introduction to this sport. I’m booking the 201 class right now!
Get off your butt and do it… besides the rafting trips looked boring as all hell.

5 Stars for a super White Water 2 day Course I had with them!
A newbie to white water and having previously perfected a wet exit, this 2 day course was either going to make or break my desire to continue in white water. In the 2 days I learned lots and safely made it down CLII rapids. Thanks guys!

This place is great! The staff has been very helpful everytime I go in. I don’t understand why people come on here and talk down on this company because it just isn’t true. One lady didn’t have them rubbing her feat as soon as she came in so she gave a bad review? Come on! If you are looking for paddle gear of any kind this is the place. Highly recommended!

I have had nothing but a good experience with CCK so far.
First we showed up randomly to talk to someone about whitewater kayaking. We had never done it, knew almost nothing about it, and wanted to try it out. We were immediately greeted by 2 staffers, and one showed us around the store, and told us all about the different kayaks and some «simple» purchasing advice should that time ever come down the road.
He told us about the Whitewater 101 class, and we signed up a few weeks later. The class was awesome. A little on the pricey side, but it we felt as though we basically had personal attention from the instructors (6 students, 2 instructors). We feel like we learned a lot and they made it enjoyable.
We will DEFINITELY be going back. Both for lessons, and to buy stuff. Can’t wait to make it back down there to try out SUP stuff.

Awesome. Great customer service, excellent accomodations for rentals and knowledge of equpment. When we are ready to buy our Oasis — this will be the place to get it… Thanks guys for some awesome days on the lakes, rivers, and bays

I have purchased 2 kayaks and some equipment from CCK. Their selection and pricing is very good. They also offer numerous classes, but don’t seem to have an associated paddle club.
The only reason for the lack of 5 stars is spotty service. If you get the right person, they are knowledgable and very helpful. A couple others, however, were not very good. Clearly some customer training or rehiring is needed for consistency.

My first TWO STAR review.
Well I finally made my way to this kayak shop and they (unfortunately) lived up to my (also unfortunate) negative expectation. Let me explain…
Bought my first kayak (used) in 2007, been learning more about kayaking every year since. Last year, 2009, my kids and I wanted a tandem so I ended up calling CCK on the phone. The phone service was poor (my questions were basic) thus I had no interest in dealing with this establishment after that.
Well fast forward to June 2010 and CCK was recently part of a cool «paddlefest» event at Lake Natoma. My kids and checked out this event with kayak demos and vendors present… it was COOL. I thought to myself that maybe I need to give this place another try since this year I’m all jazzed about Stand-​Up Paddleboards (SUP).
So after some time at Lake Natoma on my SUP I headed over to CCK to see if they had any SUP paddles in stock. I get there and the guy at the front counter is on the phone, not eye contact or even a nod. As I cruise the floor there are a couple other staffers in the office to the rhs chatting about a carbon paddle around the corner, still no service.
I walked the entire floor, seeing lots of cool/​interesting stuff but was NEVER acknowledged for even being present in this very off-​the-​beaten-​path warehouse location. Didn’t see what I was looking for and since no one seemed to care if I did I made my way to the exit (the guy at the front desk still on the phone looking down).
So, why two stars instead of just one?
Well as I was getting into my SUV with my SUP loaded on top someone actually «did» open the front door to ask me as I was closing my vehicle door if I needed any help. I engaged in a brief chat outside in the parking lot regarding those SUP paddles I did not find and thus left thinking… «never coming here again.»
The second star is due to someone eventually noticing I may have actually wanted help, probably should only be one though.
BCNU CCK… eh, NOT!!!

Father’s Day continued…
Sunday, actual Father’s day, Angie, Dad and I, along with my cousins and uncle planned a kayaking trip together. We decided on Rancho Cordova up near Sacramento for California Canoe and Kayak’s Lake Natoma Paddlefest 2009.
I’m actually quite surprised about how much fun I had. I’m a pretty adventurous gal, I’ve been river rafting in the past, as well as kayaking in the Pacific, so I was a bit skeptical about a kayaking trip in a lake. But luckily, California Canoe and Kayak was hosting their Father’s Day Paddlefest, where folk were able to experiement with dozens of different models and brands of kayaks. There must have been at least 100 kayaks for us to chose from. So once we got bored of one model, we were able to try another. I was actually quite scared about tyrying those kayaks that you stick your whole lower body into, it wasn’t a big deal at all. My fear with those is accidently tipping over with my body still stuck inside the kayak.
For a $ 10.00 Demo Fee per person all day, you received equipment i. e life jacket, paddle, and access to many different kayaks and canoes, my favorite was the Long Board Paddle. Long board paddle is pretty much just that, a simple long surf board, which you stand on, and use one paddle switching off from side to side. I was sure I was my ass was definitely going to fall into the lake, but I got s k i l l s, and did just fine. Dad on the other hand, wasn’t so great, he fell off the board 4 – 5 times. After awhile, all of us were kayaking along side him while he was on the long board, just to watch him fall. Good times!
My poor legs however, are sunburned up the yin yang! Screw sunscreen, it doesn’t work! I’m burnt !
Overall, I definitely enjoyed Father’s Day with Dad, Angie, cousins and my uncle. Great way to spend time with the family.

California Canoe And Kayak sells the best selection of flotation devices during off-​season when all other sporting goods stores in Sacramento ship n’ store every flotation device during the fall & winter season out to their main warehouse to a non-​descript, hidden location where nobody can buy the right merchandise the customer wants and needs. The other sporting goods stores East and West of Folsom and I do mean ALL the other sporting good stores did not have ONE flotation device in stock in their stockroom!
Just plain dumb, poor stockturn, retail planning on the other sporting goods stores because they permanently lost my business! So as a result of the other sporting goods stores’ dumb management planning, poor customer service, and just plain bottom of the totem pole, non-​Coast Gaurd approved flotation devices, I bought my seaworthy flotation device from California Canoe And Kayak instead.
I desperately needed a Coast-​Guard approved, seaworthy, heavy-​duty flotation device not only usable for Lake Natoma, but also for white water inner tubing down class 6 rapids beginning at Chili Bar to Trouble Maker and ocean cruising, too.
California Canoe And Kayak had just the right flotation device for all my boating needs. I was thoroughly impressed with California Canoe And Kayak’s well-​stocked kayak inventory, too.

These folks have a large selection of plastic boats and accessories. They are right on the way to the Chili Bar run of the S. American.
This place reminds me a little too much of REI. It’s just too polished for a whitewater shop.
I haven’t had good answers to my questions about the dry tops they stock here.

These folks will teach you and equip you with everything you need to take on California’s rivers. The Oakland location is right on the water and will take care of your sea kayaking needs. But I don’t sea kayak, so I can’t review that part of the operation.
Their lessons are superb, great progressions and while I was a little disappointed with the roll class I took, the river classes are great. If you are anything like me, you will spend a great deal of time out of your boat and in the river. The patient, enthusiastic instructors never seem to mind pulling a soggy student out of the water.