Loma Prieta Paddlers

Loma Prieta Paddlers (LPP) is a whitewater kayaking club associated with the Sierra Club, although Sierra Club membership is not required. It ‘s free to join and to participate in pretty much everything they do.
LPP organizes whitewater kayaking trips (and a slalom race) in northern California and also has weekly pool sessions for roll practice. They have an email server that anyone in the club can post on to organize kayak trips or for anything else related to kayaking. They also have a monthly meeting in Sunnyvale at Sports Basement. Going to one of these meetings is the best way to join– see the web site for details.
Overall, this club is really helpful for those just getting into the sport, or for kayakers new to the area. I joined back in 2004, and have probably kayaked with them on about 250 days since then. The club has been around for many years, and they have some members of more than 40 years, so there is somewhat of a club culture. They are very safety oriented, and pretty conservative overall, which is really good for newbies. On the social side, they have a Christmas party each year, barbecues in the summer, beer and pizza after the weekly pool practice, plus the kayak trips themselves are pretty big social events.