May, 2024. We stayed one night at this campground mid-week in our Class B RV after having made…read morereservations on Recreation.gov. Finding the campground (Rating: 1/5). We had had a LONG driving day, it was getting dark, and we were not familiar with the Lake Isabella area. We passed several National Sequoia Forest campgrounds on the lake that had vacancies but Tillie Creek was still further along -- and required navigating a curvy road where the speed limit and driving by locals was too fast for conditions. When our GPS reported that we had reached, we didn't see any signage that a campground was there so we mistakenly missed it. However, we then noticed picnic tables and fire rings that were suggestive of the campground so we turned back and found the campground. Finding a site. (Rating: 4/5). Being mid-week, almost ALL of the sites were available but most had tags that they were reserved for the weekend. We selected a fairly level site -- and were soon joined by the camp host who checked us in and gave us our car tag. He also warned us to be careful because there were rattlesnakes in the area. We only saw a bunny! It turned out that only the camp host, another rv, and us were the only ones on-site for the night. It also turned out that our selected site (#18) wasn't ideal because there was early morning traffic noise. This campground does not offer showers, but it does have restrooms and water spigots. Also note that one section of the campground isn't being maintained -- beyond where Tillie Creek had flooded. Also, to our knowledge, the lake is not easily accessible from the campground.

Stayed at this campground over the weekend. The campground is very pleasant, quiet, and has many…read moredifferent sites available. We chose a site in a grove of trees and it's been amazing have shade throughout the entire day. The campground isn't perfect, we were lost when we first came in, went up the road to some mobile homes and then finally when we reached the campground it looked slightly abandoned. The booth where you check in was abandoned, in disrepair and full of cobwebs, a playground was full of empty frames of where swings and stuff should be, and like I mentioned before looked empty. We eventually found the camp host who was very pleasant and helpful though and were given the choice to pick any site we wanted. About an hour from Sequoia's trail of 100 giants and a few minutes from the French Gulge Marina where we rented some kayaks. Only real downside was there were a lot of wasps at our campsite when we tried to prepare food and no showers on site either. Toilets are basically outhouses but were kept clean. All in all had a good weekend away here.

Five Stars! Camping on the Kern is our number one choice…read moreevery time we visit the Kern River. The entire staff is friendly, welcoming, and genuinely cares about making your stay enjoyable. They always respond quickly, communicate well, and go out of their way to help. It's refreshing to support a small business that consistently provides such excellent customer service. Every experience we've had has been positive, and that's why we keep coming back. We highly recommend Camping on the Kern to anyone looking for a great camping experience. Thank you to the entire team for all that you do--we truly appreciate you and look forward to our next visit!

This was mine and my husbands first time renting a trailer from this company, however, a lot of my…read morefamily members have rented a trailer from them for years! We love camping up at Kern River and this year it was so nice to have our own trailer set up at our site and ready for us to enter as soon as we got there! We got a walk through with a representative who gave us simple instructions on what we needed to know and then we were able to quickly unpack and jump into vacation mode. From the moment we booked, they have been very kind and accommodating when I would call with my questions and sent us plenty of communication leading up to our trip. No doubt we will rent a trailer from them again next time we find ourselves up at kern.

Multiple thoughts below, but generally a solid spot if you're in the area…read more 1. Spot 15, its mostly shaded except from about 2-6pm. Can hear a little traffic bit nothing major. Its a little bit of a hike to the river, especially of you have stuff. On the quieter side of the camp and also outside the automatic gates. Its a bit of a treck to the restroom. - space across had a shed that looked like it was hot by a tornado, they should clean that up. - also back side as you track from sister camp is a little sketchy. 2. BEARS- they come through daily, literally. They dont go into your camp as they turn over trash cans but you do need to have your head on a swivel. The one we saw was a teenager size... but we saw it on 3 different days, daylight and night time. Not too scared of people... People were nice. Close to town but I wouldn't say walkable, especially evening/night. The city itself is pretty cute.

This was my first time visiting this campsite, I took my 4 grandchildren and I was a bit worried…read moreafter reading some of the previous reviews. Now my first positive thing was that I originally booked a smaller campsite but I checked and a larger become available so I called to see if I could be moved.. Lynette made it happen, We arrived around 2 and checking in was a breeze our spot was perfect close to the river with a beautiful creek right behind us that my grandchildren enjoyed. This place has high speed internet that kept my kiddos entertained after quiet time. The place is clean and staff is very welcoming. You have a supermarket, gas station and restaurants less then half a mile away. Staff definitely make you feel very welcome.

PROS: Campground is…read morea short distance drive to Lake Isabella and hike at Boulder Gulch campground Amazing service from Sandy & her husband Recommend site 76 which is in front of Lake Isabella (beautiful!) Great stopover before you hit the Sequoias Lots of off road-ing trails CONS: This area can get REALLY hot ... just be aware and check weather 1st There aren't many trees and shade on the hikes around the area Kern River and Lake Isabella are drying out (please come and enjoy before it becomes extinct!)

Campground: Stayed here for a weekend at the end of March,…read moreit was one of the only campgrounds open this time of year. While the campground itself was great. The area around it was lacking with stuff to do this time of year. We stayed at Site 55, which is in the back corner of the grounds. It's more separated from the other sites. There are a few small tress but not much shade. There is water right across from the site but the bathrooms are at the other end of the site. I would recommend site 55 if you want privacy. The woman that runs the campground is really friendly and checked on us often. Things to Do: Beware if you go to the Sequoia National Forest before May the road that goes to most of the hiking trails and the Sequoia National Monument is closed until May so you can't get to anything. This was really disappointing to us. Since we couldn't do the hike we wanted we checked out the Kern river, it was so low because of the drought, we swam in the river, it is freezing so you can't swim for long. We saw a few people tubing but they were getting stuck and having trouble. There were no rafters. The water was too low. We ended up finding one hiking trail that we could get to via another road right where the main road closed. You had to drive 26 miles to the end of the road, once you get to the end of the road it's a 13 mile hike there and back, it was a very steep and challenging hike, take your time. At the end of the hike is the river and an awesome bridge. The hike is beautiful, great views and totally secluded. We actually saw 2 mountain lions on the hike. In Kernville there wasn't much, a few gift shops, a sports bar, and a couple places to eat. Lake Isabella itself is actually really disappointing. It's on the verge of extinction. Most of the lake is completely dried out and the little bit of water that is there is too small to really swim or do anything.

Been coming here for years. Staff is very friendly and helpful. Clean bathrooms /showers and Andy…read moreGump's if needed. We always get the water front site so it's a few steps away. No complaints here.

I'm very mixed about this review. The staff were amazing. They immediately greeted us and made…read moresure we had everything we needed to make our stay awesome. The grounds are very much in need of some TLC. The sites are spacious and our group was placed together - which made spending time together easy...and fun. They are on top of the maintenance and the bathrooms/showers are quite impressive. My hopes - before returning next year (and writing an updated, very positive review) - is that the owners invest a bit of money in landscaping. Even if it is just tilling the sites. Get rid of the coarse weeds and level it off. So much potential. We will be back!

Loved the community everyone was so nice and friendly the entire stay. Easy access to the…read morebathrooms/showers including the river. The water was amazing this year and the campsites were clean. Loved the Karaoke night idea they even offered prizes to win. Perfect spot to go stargazing, you're able to see many stars out at night. I would choose this campsite again over anywhere else. 10/10.

Location, location, location! This place has the best river/beach access on the upper Kern. I also…read morelove that it's walking distance to everything in town (park, restaurants & stores). The park was clean and well maintained & the staff was super friendly. Ever went well and I'll definitely be coming back next year!

Had the place all to myself today. Spot was level and had, potable water, a fire pit, and picknic…read moretable. Bathrooms were clean and they have hot showers too. Pay in cash at the entrance and it's $36 per day for camping. Day camp is $12. Tons of spots to park in, and everything except the trees is green. There is road noise, as this place is located directly off the highway. Other than that, it's pretty quiet. The drive up is a beautiful two-lane road, that takes you through the mountains. Highly recommend for day trips, fishing, kayaking etc...

Great views of the lake and mountains. Entertaining ground squirrels everywhere. Flushable…read moretoilets and an usable shower. No electric, water or sewage at the campsites but numerous water stations and a dump station. The downside is the price. 36 dollars while the two other forest service campgrounds a short distance away that have pit toilets and no shower are only 12 dollars and have the same great view. The private RV parks in the area only charge a dollar more and have full hookups and WiFi but don't have the view. The advantage of the high nightly fee is that the campground is mostly empty. As I write this, there are two other campers here and the other two campgrounds are packed.

-Vault toilets , no showers . -No cellular / No internet…read moreservice . -On site Host. -Water spigot shared among other campsite. -fishing, hiking trails -Hot spring -walking distance to McNallys burgers , Johnny McNally's Fairview lodge, McNally's General Store We stayed in site 21 and 24 site 21 is adjacent to the bathroom & across the street to the river Walking distance to Mali's burger, cabin general store and a steakhouse , Mally's General store. To access the nearby restaurant walk towards the residential trailer across from site 24. The general store carries many items if you were to leave anything at home. they have ice , canned food , drinks, sleeping bags, hats, water, shoes, medication and of course, alcohol and also fishing baits. Some of the sites has no shade , the group sites has partial shade and is adjacent to the river .

Fairview camping area is nice most of the spots are drive thru easy parking we had spot 19. The…read moreonly thing is the picnic are is deeper in not by your trailer. The area is clean and the bathrooms. They have men and women bathrooms no running water inside. They do have water spigots around the camp including fresh drinking water. No showers. No cell service. Really quiet area the stars at night are awesome you can see them dancing the Milky Way. The camp host was only there one night we came the second week of November. You can fish right behind your campsites. There is a store next door. Other than that you are pretty remote. Oh you will see some fighter planes flying by like 3 or 4 times a day very loud.. but pretty cool to watch.

Just went this past weekend with the wife for the first time. Her and I both agree that this was…read morewell worth the trip and we will be back again. TLDR; Great time, nice campsites, friendly staff, clean bathroom and showers Check in is at 3pm but we got caught up in some traffic on the way there and couldn't arrive until 6:45. Got an email and text message with a picture of where our envelope with our information would be that contained the gate code, campsite, and a map of the campground. Very nice. We pulled in and as I was grabbing the envelope a man named Scot who was working there greeted me and asked if I needed any help. Told him that it's our first time here and he offered to show us to our campsite and lead us in his golf cart. When we pulled into the campsite it was clean and the ground was even raked! Which was perfect for us to immediately start setting up our tent. Even the fire pit was raked and clean, there was shade galore which my wife with sensitive skin greatly appreciated. Full cell service with T-Mobile Noticed that the bench at our site could use some TLC, looked like someone put too hot of a pot on it and burned a pretty decent divot into it and it was leaning. Still useable and not a deal breaker for us. There were 2 water spouts to fill up the bucket we used to put out our fire and clean our dishes very close by our site with good pressure. The river was a stones throw away from our campsite which provided great white noise to fall asleep to. One of the rules is that Quiet time is at 10pm. I've been camping elsewhere with the same rule but never have I've seen it enforced unless you call and complain. Staff would drive by around 9:30 on the golf cart, I assume to see who is still playing music, and then again at 10. Which was great. They didn't announce the rule or even say anything as they drove by, but just making their presence known was very professional and reassuring. Since we didn't get to check in properly we had to go back up to the main office/ general store to submit a registration card, that was in the envelope I picked up, to finish checking in. The woman checking us in was nice, friendly, quick, and efficient. She suggested we stop by McNally's further up about 40min drive if we were looking for something to do or eat. 11/10 suggestion. It was all n all a great time. We will be back. Worth the money.

It was an amazing place to stay at Kern River was so awesome (check out Big Daddy, it's so…read morebeautiful). The customer service was okay. I personally felt that they were treating my group and I like we were stupid or something. We had a big wasp problem at our campsite and though they did help us by putting up a trap, they acted like it was completely up to us to fix their problem. That only happened one night but the wasps did resurface the next morning so we left as soon as possible. We also had a big skunk problem at our site. We couldn't relax at the campfire because the skunks would come up to us every couple of minutes and we would have to shoo them away. They would also rummage through our stuff which was covered and put away to our best extent. They thankfully didn't mess with the tent but they did spray a bit when we were trying to sleep. This was both nights. If you're someone who is willing to look past that and persevere definitely try this place it is so worth it. I would maybe come back, as long as I wouldn't have to deal with the wasps again lol. I will say the restrooms and showers were very clean so that does encourage me to not be shy on coming back.

Such a great spot! Came with a group of campers, close to 20 of us, we were able to secure one side…read moreof the site giving us the space to sprawl out a bit. Each site in itself is pretty large with flare spots to set up tents. Bummed that campfires are allowed but it was still a good time. Croc rock and the water isn't a far walk and adds to the allure of this site. Overall a great experience.

Very nice site with a beautiful cold river. Would highly recommend if you are beginner campers or…read morewant an easy spot to camp in. We had the perfect spot which was site #6 with easy access to the river. There also were fighter jets and helicopters who would practice above the campsite in the morning to afternoon. Only complaint was we weren't told about no firewood and never got the email that we couldn't bring firewood to the campsite. Other than that had so much fun being there!