Campground is actually pretty nice and well maintained. Its right along the river and has a nice view. There are plenty of hiking and bike riding trails connected to it. The Ranger was nice when I had a minor issue. The hours of the Rangers office are only till 5 PM I think. Why only 3 Stars? My experience at this campground was not as expected. - There was a group who decided to make the campground one big party and were blasting their music for the whole campground to hear. Many times they would ride around the loop blasting their music for everyone to hear as well. I guess they thought it was cool. They weren't young by any means. They were on scooters too, so not like they were trying to get exercise out of it. - Many folks decided it was alright to drive the wrong way around the loop, despite there being large signs that say "WRONG WAY, DO NOT ENTER". - I had many folks hanging out in my campsite since it was next to the water. I guess they either don't know of campground etiquette or don't care. I always thought you "don't" walk through someone else's campsite. read more

Kern River Campground - Campsite 19 parking size - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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A very nice spot to camp and its a 2 -5 minute walk to the river. You can bring your RV but there are no electrical or water hook ups . Plenty of space to tent . There is running water from a faucet at the camp spot , toilets and hot showers . And they do keep it clean and provide toilet paper . Now, if you are part of a big group of campers you might want to get a site that's further out of the camp site near the river or the fields because of noise. If you are loud enough, your neighbors will hear you or you will hear them and can cause problems between camps especially during quiet time. Respect the quiet time which is at 10pm. My camp is loud, we play music and clown around and have good fun, and sometimes it might bother other campers, so I would book a site near the ends of the camp site where there are no campers behind you . Other than that, this is a really great place to camp . There is a convenient store a mile away but everything there is overpriced but convenient. This campground is infested with friendly squirrels that will beg for food or eat your scraps. Try not to feed them . read more

Kern River Campground - The Kern River section 4 - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Looking for a beautiful campground near Los Angeles with River rafting and basic amenities this is it. Tent camping or RV with no hook ups Clean restrooms well maintained campsites. The town is close and you will be surrounded by beautiful rolling hills. Lake Ming is next door read more

Kern River Campground - Typical campsite - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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I recommend camping here the river during may thru July is chill but sometimes after June it get rough but it's a beautiful place many people go and it amazing for a family weekend camp. GO CAMPING ITS GREAT read more

Quiet hours are not respected and rangers will not pick when called. why do you keep a generator on all night when you are camping in a damn RV?! DO BETTER read more

We had a great time at this campground, we stayed at site 44 and had beautiful views of the river and it was lovely hearing the river flow by, the restrooms are renovated since 2022 and the showers are free with great water, pressure and temperature Restrooms very clean, we did the 2 mile hike around the lake, it was a bit hot, but beautiful and saw some birds and lovely nature. read more

Kern River Campground - Lake Ming - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

I took a chance and booked a one night stay to try this campground out since it was the closest river spot to us. We were there on a Sunday into Monday so it was fairly empty, which was great. The spaces give you lots of room, there are a million squirrels to watch in the morning which my kids really enjoyed. The water level was high, plenty for tubing and swimming. The only downside I would say was a little bit of trash left behind, but nothing major. Other campers were friendly and the camp host or the lady that was in charge of checking on spots was extremely on top of everything. She was super friendly and stopped to talk to us to make sure everything was going well. And when some random people pulled up and decided to park right next to our spot and just placed their chairs along the water, she was extremely quick to drive up and get them out of there. She did notify us that they did not keep staff overnight and let us know that we could call police for any issues. Not even two hours after she was offsite a very friendly ranger drove through just to check on the park. He was super friendly and stopped to say hi too. if your dogs are enticed by squirrels, this place might be a little bit difficult for you. We kept our dogs on leash, but they definitely wanted to take off after the squirrels which don't have much fear of anything. Definitely recommend this campground and we will be back. There were no hook ups, but that was fine for us. read more

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Kern River is easily one of our favorite campgrounds. It's clean and beautiful! the hosts are always friendly and easy to work with. In the summer, the river is a fun place to wade or ride with a floaty. I want to give a shout out to Arica who helped us find another sight when everything seemed booked up! read more

Kern River Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Do NOT camp at this campground. Top 4 reasons why: 1. It's dirty. There is trash in the river, all around the river, all over the campground. It's disgusting. 2. It's loud. Not like Mother Nature, rushing waters loud, like mariachi music until 3 am loud. No camp host Sunday to Wednesday. WORST time to camp. 3. It's sketchy. Glen, guy in a cart drives around to check you in, comes to us. Hands us a piece of paper & says, "Here's the phone number for the sheriffs dept. no camp host until Wednesday & the sheriff will drive through every once in a while, but keep this number. In fact, save the number in your phone or dial 911." I told him that's kinda scary & he hesitantly replies, "well, just to be on the safe side. There's a free park to camp at up the way. All sorts of people camp there." I asked about this specific campground we're camping at. He REPEATED to save the number in my phone. 4. 4 people died in the river last week, he told us. 1 being a little kid :( and 3 adults. Told us to be wear life jackets & swim at your own risk - which we were already aware about! Kern can be dangerous!! Staying at this campground is kinda like Russian roulette. In more than one way. If you're even thinking about camping here - just stop!!! Buy a slip n slide & Pitch a tent in your backyard. read more

Great camping spot. The campsite was located a few feet away from the river. The bathrooms and showers were surprisingly clean and well maintained. All in all it was a pleasant experience. read more

Kern River Campground - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Beautiful campground next to Kern River and Lake Ming. The showers and bathrooms are nice and clean and well managed. Campground host Robert was also very nice! Overall experience was great would definitely consider coming back. read more

Kern River Campground - Campground view - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Do not highly recommend this campground. Too loud, no security, no Ranger, people do not respect the quiet hours. People have their music loud all day and night. If you are looking for a peaceful campground to get away from all the noise from the city or stress this is definitely not the place to go to! read more

Okay, my star rating is at a 3.5 stars and here we go - we arrived last Sunday and the drive up was super dope and we were excited to escape the city and life and work. We arrived around 4pm and check in time is at 2pm and we reserved for Goldledge campgrounds and when we arrived there was another couple setting up their tents and at site 27 to 29 is all clustered together and we notice space 27 table was marked but not 28 and 29. The other couple had already set up and it was hot so we said whatever, let's go back to the other site. The other site is rocky and has a great boulder you can chill on but since this site is in the back, everyone before us had at least taken number 1 or 2s back there and there was tissue paper stuck in the bushes and stuff. If you're camping, please clean up after your damn self! Mind you, this was on the outskirts of the campgrounds but toilet paper was definitely near our site. The gentleman that comes in the AM, Bob I believe finally arrived around 9am and notified us the the other couple was in site 28 and we were site 29. Ugggggh!!! Maybe if you painted the numbers, we would know this. But whatever, we were already dedicated and set up in our spot and we also had three 11yr old with us. Bob is an older man and he was nice and not disrespectful or condescending at all to us and might be a little hard of hearing. He also let us know where the huge boulder is at and swimming area. So now the restrooms, eeeeehhh, NASTY! In the heat and luckily you have a mask since we're in the RONA and that masked some of the smell. The toilet have no running water, it's just a huge hole, deep in the ground and stinky. And, theres no shower but running water at several spots near each camping site. Now I kinda know why people have handled their duties use to the sites but take your trash with you, your in nature. Now let's talk about the river, OMG!!!! The river is the best part of the trip and it was so refreshing and chill. Near site 27, theres a hiking trail that goes down and you basically have your own little river walk and swimming area. Theres also a rope going across the river to grab on too. The kids loved it, we loved it and even tied up our beers and had then floating in the water. We chilled down there for 6+ hours and I even took a little nap. Being in nature and straight roughing camping, no glamping here is so nice and a lot of work but soooo worth it!! The moon was full on all our nights there too and I came back recharged and full of magical moon rays. Definitely check this place out and be prepared to actually camp amd enjoy the crickets, the critters, the EPIC Kern River, family time and laughs. Theres also a lot campgrounds around the area. read more

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This campground is beautiful, but the people who camp here have no regard for nature or boundaries. People walked through our campsite every 5 minutes and right up to the door of our camp. I felt bad for our neighbors because the day users were constantly on their campsite. A church with day users even set up on our neighbor's campsite and started baptisms. There was music blasting all over, ice cream trucks and vendors every hour with annoying music/horns, dirty restrooms. It felt more like a circus. People even selling stuff from their cars and bugging people at their campsites to buy stuff. We watched people just throw their litter on the ground from the ice cream trucks. There were dirty diapers floating in the river. I watched one lady bring her little girl to our neighbor's campsite while they were gone and defecate on the tree...Yeah, definitely won't be coming back here. Too noisy and like a city park where day-users trespass on your site. read more

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This place was pretty. It was a revolving door of people. We got there early, and we got a lovely spot. There was some type of rebirth baptism going on, and there were way too many unruly teenagers. Something that could be annoying when you are trying to have a relaxing family gathering. We don't know the area so we just took camp on the first spot. We didn't rent a spot in the campground area we set up on the outskirts. read more

Easily accessible, grounds are clean, access to water, bathrooms are kinda old and requires some maintenance, camp host was really nice and informative, right next to water. read more

Yes a very nice place to camp. And the river is asome water is not the cold. a lot of fun things to do

Pros: fantastic campsites, we stayed in site 21, next to the river, big picnic tables, grassy areas to set up tents, trees for shade, you can fit three cars in the site parking. Close to town if you need or run out of something like ice. Cons: Much like Joshua Tree, being that it is easy to get to, it's inviting for anybody with a tent who has zero camping etiquette. Hence you get loud, obnoxious campers till 2am, generators constantly running and lots of loud kids for most of the day. The bathrooms were a complete wreck, the worst I've seen in all the years I've camped. read more

Beautiful place pace natural relaxing I loved being there I'll come back thank you for take care out planet enjoy with my the memories for my life I just say thank you!!!! read more

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I felt more like I was at a neighborhood park rather than at a nature campground. You are really close to people too and so your neighbors will be playing the baseball cane very loud or their music extremely loud. There's one bathroom with 3 stalls for over 20 campsites to share. Overall, probably one of the worst campsites I've ever camped at, and I'm an avid camper. Rob our host was super awesome and helpful though. Will not return or recommend. read more

Amazing place they have showers and restrooms that are clean with hot water, water is dangerous and would not recommend swimming in great place would recommend read more

This is a very nice campground! It's much more roomy than some of the private ones up in Kernville, at a much lower price. Gil, the park host, is a stickler for the rules, which I loved! He was also very nice. read more

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This review is more about the Kern River itself, which is located adjacent to the Campground, Park and other areas. The Kern River is really nice, especially from a Metro/Urban perspective knowing that from the LA area, within about 2 hours of a drive you can go from concrete to nature. There are residual reminders of the city of course, as you'll see areas with graffiti, the aroma of marijuana in the air, delinquent looking types hanging out, litter and garbage, alcohol containers (FYI - I believe there's an ordinance about drinking and not drinking at certain designated areas and the law enforcement does patrol and police the areas) I was warned, if you park your car in the area and leave it unattended, especially for any long period of time, do yourself a favor proactively and don't leave any valuables, whether visible or hidden, as cars do get broken into in the area. It's an area of opportunity for criminals knowing that people will leave their cars for hours, so they can scout 'em out and vandalize or steal with less risk of getting caught. The river is/was nice in August (2014), very slow and peaceful for a "tubing" expedition, and the length of the river was adequate, as was the width for enjoyment without raging waters or adjacent hazards to interfere with either safety nor hinder seamless enjoyment. It's a nice public place with cool water. I'd encourage wearing a life jacket and proper shoes since the water does have it's spots where it's a bit powerful and the grounding is rocky and slippery, especially for anyone who has balance and mobility issues nor can't swim strong, and especially for children... watch your kids carefully... "it's always fun until someone gets hurt" as the saying goes... The restrooms are a tad sketchy (dark and dingy), and the areas along the river do lack garbage cans (I'd encourage the city/state to promote recycling and proper refuse disposal to keep the areas clean). read more

I've visited several different campgrounds in California and this has been the absolute worst. First of all, this campground is not in Kernville where many popular rafting and kayak outfitters are based. If youre looking for a campground in Kernville, its probably Frandy, which is a good 45 minute drive up past Lake Isabella. This is about 10 miles from Bakersfield, but still right on the Kern river. It does have a lot of good things going for it. Wide open spaces with nice grass, most are well shaded. You can set multiple tents with lots of room between sites. It has GREAT access to this part of the Lower Kern River. If youre not here to kayak or boat, there are a couple of nice wading eddy pool along the river. BUT BE CAREFUL! The river IS dangerous. I wouldn't let the partying tubers floating down fool you. People DO DIE every year. Here's where the negatives come in. Its "First come, First served" which basically means in the summertime, families will come midweek and rent out several sites. There is little to NO CHANCE of getting a site just rolling up on Friday. No "reservations", but people still pay for a few days and just come back leaving the site empty for a few days. So plan well ahead... If you cant beat em, join em. The rangers come more frequently from Friday over the weekend to check things and take money. They will not tolerate anything unpaid or unregulated. No third vehicle unless its in the PAID overflow lot. You can be sure to catch them around 2-4pm. Check out is 4pm. There is NO other camp host or serviced booth. Its all thru the rangers. The site advertises showers as an amenity. Its true, the shower is free and slightly warm. And theres only 1 for each sex for each half of the campground (figure 25 sites x8 people max on a packed weekend) The rest of the bathroom is an absolute disaster. Theres 2 stalls BUT NO DOOR. And it gets pretty nasty in there. I actually see a crew pull up at least once a day to clean and service the bathrooms. I'm not really sure what theyre doing other than unclogging toilets and refilling toilet paper, which I guess I should be thankful enough these things dont occur for more than a day... The only other option is porta-pottys at the middle and ends of the campground. But come on... a porta-potty in the hot summer is just a fly incubator. I hope this post helps inform anyone who wishes to stay here to get a realistic view of the campground. Like I said it does have its perks, but until they change the no reservation policy and fix those bathrooms, I'd steer away unless you have to be here with some other group. There is a small but decent convenience store next to the Chevron just outside the campground. From the market, drive down Lake Ming Road and around the circle, pass Rudal Rd with a sign for Lake Ming until you see the sign for CAMPSITE, turn right. Final note, there is an oddly STRONG 3G signal with AT&T here. Tether your laptop and its a surprisingly fast and reliable connection. read more

Kern River Campground - http://www.co.kern.ca.us/parks/krcampground.pdf - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

We stayed here for 4 days (weekdays $72 total) and it's beautiful there, so green and lush, we stayed in site 41 which is not a river front but it's very close to where you can hear the water rushing while you're sleeping which I found relaxing. Close to a small beach and bathrooms. I rode my inner tube in the river current but crashed into some leaning tree branches in the rapid area. The down sides from being here was of course, the weather in August came up to 104° and it doesn't appear to be very "elderly-friendly" to get into the river, it's kind of hard for them to climb up and down the steep area to get in the water. Overall we enjoyed our stay here. read more

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Absolutely loved this place. Will for sure come again. Plus the river rafting place was super close and covenant. Definitely should give a try. read more

Review isn't for a specific campground. There are several locations so keep driving up river til you find the one you like. But it's been my go-to campground since childhood so I am biased on my review because this place holds great memories. This is not your fancy shmancy campground. Be ready to get down and dirty because that's what camping is all about. Lake Isabella is so dry due to the California drought, the river rapids have never been so low but I am still giving this place 5 stars for the calm serenity that it delivers. Let loose and have fun in the wilderness. read more

Kern River Campground - Selfie by the river. I can stay here all day. - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

Not too far from town. Well spaced areas. 1 picnic table, 1 grill, 1 fire pit & 2 car parking per spot The river was pretty cool. 2 restroom locations for the whole campground. The bathrooms are disgusting. Stalls need trash bins or at least one big one because too much dirty toilet paper accumulates all over the floor and it's so gross x _x. Bathrooms got clogged a couple times during our stay on Memorial Day Weekend but fortunately they got serviced fairly quickly. Usually the issues were resolved before people started crawling out of their tents in the a.m. Warm Shower! There's one per restroom and there are lines. Usually in the morning and evenings but people move fairly quickly. Bring shower shoes. River dirt all over. Troopers drive around frequently to check up on everything and are very friendly and courteous. Over all, good experience with this place (aside from the restroom issues) and will camp here again. Hopefully soon! read more

Kern River Campground - Lots of shade. - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

The day campers ruin the whole experience for the overnight campers! Driving on the bike path so our kids can't ride their bikes safely, trash left everywhere for us to pick up, music blaring.. so much for an inch of nature... day campers have no respect for the overnight campers -just walk through the middle of our campground everyday multiple times n disrespect the overnight era if you ask them to go around! And let's not talk about the showers!!!!!! Will NEVER be back and i suggest you stay away as read more

Kern River Campground - Day campers just parking on the grass to load and unload! - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

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Was here in September, half of the sites were closed due to COVID. Took 2 starts because bathroom service was not very COVID clean. They bathrooms were dirty than when I've seen campsite at full capacity. 3 stars because kids still had a blast. read more

I will definitely return to this beautiful campground. It's right next to the lake and river and the trees are rather beautiful. Gill was nice to work with despite the reservation problem. You're not able to pay for the campsite after 12am but you can use the app to do it instead. read more

It seems that most of the people leaving low star reviews expected a hotel or something? I think most of the negative reviews came from people who forgot this is a campsite, restrooms shouldn't even be available if this was rural camping, you just pay for your spot and figure it out, no maintenance. But this place gives us the option! Ive been coming here for a few summers now and theres nothing about it I dont enjoy. I definitely recommend :) it does get a little packed so make sure you pick out a cool spot ahead of time. read more

Lovely camping site. We booked a last minute site 2 weeks before the actual date. They luckily had some new camping spots (riverfront tent 101-111,440) made in the RV section next to the river so score. $36 for 2 people per night and $6 pp afterwards. So if youre staying for 2 nights with 8 people then its 36+36+6+6+6+6= $96 It was a stones throw from the river and ours was right behind us so we had our own personal river nook. Decent distance from the bathrooms that have showers and were very clean. We had a fire ant problem and the workers came and took care of it for us. read more

Beautifully maintained and inexpensive. No services but informative very friendly helpful campground host. River view sites right by the river. Kayak, canoe, float or swim. BBQs and Fire rings and tables at each site. Water was available. Flush toilets and shower available. Senior winter rate $10. read more

Kern River Campground - *Update: new modern restrooms - Campgrounds Near Me - Bakersfield, California

The camp ground was good and we had a great spot by the river. The only thing that SUCKED! was the camp host/manager he came around 9 at night in the dark and just beeped at us and when we didn't respond (because how the hell do we know who he's beeping at if he doesn't say anything ) he yelled at us to not stand around and come over to him and when I went and didn't get close enough he yelled at me again to get closer which I responded no your making me uncomfortable and can tell me from where I am standing ( which wasn't far from him in the first place) then he just stated the rules and left. He was so rude and thank god he only showed up that one time. I would definitely go again only for the river and camping experience , they really need to tell that guy to be a bit more respectful and say hey or something rather then just beep at us. read more

Not worth it! Don't waste your money. The designated space for your rig is small. Lots of bugs. Lots of wholes from critters. I actually made a reservation by mistake thinking it was another location. I called immediately to cancel my reservation and they would not give me my money back. Said I could have a credit to use within next 6mos. Decided to keep reservation... duh, who wants to waste money. Ended up wasting my money. Didn't stay. Found a spot to camp at Orange Grove RV Park. read more

Just pull up your camper and start your generator, turn on the radio, order a pizza and you are camping! Getting away from it all is nice! This is what you will see mostly. Weekend warrior and car camping types at its best. It feels like camping out in the back yard or in a public park. Not to much privacy cuz its always packed and kids walk right though your camp when chasing the soccer ball. The only reason I here is when I know someone is already there and have room for one more tent. I stay up late, drink beer and pass out. Sure I could do that in my back yard, but hey, I'M CAMPING! Make sure you bring plenty of beer for the night. DO NOT GO ON BEER RUNS! First of all, it is stupid. The closest store is about six miles away. If you dont know the roads, I dont want you on them. Especially if you had a few. Secondly is because the rangers are right outside waiting for you. If you leave the camp at night for better be 100% sober. They are bored and just waiting for dumbasses to fuck up. The next morning you might get woken up by mariachi or cumbia music as people are leaving. Just wait a few minutes. A redneck from across camp will come a yell at them. It's quite a show sometimes. With all that said, I still go here. It's close. It's for when I want to go camping and not really plan a camping trip. You can also ride you bike here along the bike path. I'll have my mini tent and set up along the river and leave early. The ranger will think I'm part of your group. read more

Only gave it 3 stars because of the restroom. It only had 1 stall for showers and it wasn't all that clean. The campsites had a lot of shade and it was far from each other. Our spots were 44 & 46. We had the river front. read more

Camped there for the first time, nice area, the raccoons come out at night and visit your site. The bathrooms were filthy, really could wash the walls and showers better. read more

Took away one star bc the bathrooms were filthy. We stayed on site 40 with a waterfront, firepit, pinic table, and fully shaded. The restrooms were about 150 yards away. We drive in to check for availability the same day and got lucky. The place was pretty empty. We checked in on May 13th, 2 dogs($10 per pet fee), 2 night stay for $68 on Mother's Day. The temperature was perfect(mid 70's in the day and 50's at night). The only complaints I may have is about the restrooms and how people leave their site a mess. There were cereal all over our site when we stayed. Other than that... I really like the place. We are making plans to mke it annual trip from Vegas. read more