The last town on the 101 before Mendocino, with a tiny parks operation that runs its own pickleball anyway.
Cloverdale is the top of the county and the top of this list, and its public pickleball is about as small as public pickleball gets. What it lacks in courts it partly makes up in organization: the city runs its own classes and its own tournament, which is more than most towns this size manage.
That is worth saying plainly rather than talking around. Cloverdale's own instructor roster already lists certified pickleball coaches, so a beginner here has two good ways to start: a city group class, or a lesson with me. The difference is the format rather than the level. A class puts you in a group on a set evening; a private lesson is one to one and spends the whole session on you, and a group lesson is that same session with people you picked.
The other thing that is true here and not elsewhere is heat. This is the hot end of Sonoma County, there is no indoor court in town, and from early summer to autumn the useful part of the day is the morning. Plan around that and Cloverdale is easy. Ignore it and you will spend a lesson standing in the sun learning nothing.
One venue in town. Mostly there is nothing to reserve, and any drop-in fee is included in the lesson.
Cloverdale publishes a page of its recreation instructors, and pickleball has its own heading on it, with two coaches listed who hold Professional Pickleball Registry certification. One of them coaches in Santa Rosa and through Healdsburg's recreation department as well. For a city this size that is unusual, and it means a beginner here has a local group option as well as a private one.
Cloverdale runs an eight-team pickleball tournament at the Furber Park courts, entered in pairs, round robin for seeding and then single elimination. The entry rule tells you what kind of event it is: at least one player on each team has to be a Cloverdale resident. It is a community day as much as a competition, and it is a realistic thing to train toward if you want a reason to practice.
Cloverdale sets its park hours in the municipal code rather than on a sign at the court: seven in the morning until ten at night. The same list of rules bans bicycles from city parks outright, which catches out people who ride to the court. In summer it is the early end of that window that matters, because by the middle of a Cloverdale afternoon in July you will not want to be on asphalt.
Cloverdale built pickleball courts at Furber Park and holds a tournament on them, but the city's description of that park still lists play structures, a ball field, a snack shack and a creek, with no mention of pickleball at all. It is a small thing and a fair warning: published information about this town runs behind what is actually on the ground, so confirm before you make a special trip.
Times and programs above are run by other organizations and can change. Check the linked page before you travel.
Every format below runs at any of the venues above. No membership, no joining fee.
Never played? Beginners in Cloverdale start with either a private lesson (From $85) or a group lesson with a friend (From $45 / player). Paddles are provided either way. One is quieter, the other is cheaper each. What a first lesson is like.
One player, one coach, everything aimed at your game.
From $85Bring your doubles partner, or a few friends, and train together.
From $45 / playerCannot find an hour, or want a game looked at that I was not at? Send me footage instead and the coaching comes back online, wherever you played it.
Cloverdale is the far north end of the patch, a straight run up the 101 from Windsor and a little longer from Santa Rosa. There is no travel charge, here or anywhere else, and the price on the lessons page is what you pay. What the trip needs is notice, a day or two rather than a morning, and it works best as a block or a small group rather than one short hour.
Either is a fine place to start. Cloverdale runs its own pickleball classes with certified instructors, which puts you in a group at a set time. A private lesson is one to one, so the whole session goes on your grip, your serve and the thing that keeps costing you points.
No. There is no travel charge, here or anywhere else, and the price on the lessons page is what you pay. What helps instead is notice, a day or two rather than a morning, and a longer session or a small group makes the trip worth it for both of us.
Morning, for most of the summer. Cloverdale is the hot end of the county and there is no indoor court in town, so afternoon sessions in July and August are unpleasant and you will not learn much. Parks open early here, which makes an eight o'clock start easy.
Not in Cloverdale. There is no indoor court in town, so a wet-week lesson means driving south. In practice most students here book in the dry half of the year and use the winter for the parts of the game you can think about rather than hit.
Something not covered? The full FAQ goes further, or just send a message.
I teach across 18 towns in the North Bay.
Pick a day and a time that suits you and I will confirm it, usually within a few hours. Nothing is charged when you book.