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    Lake Isabella / Kern River KOA

    3.5 (100 reviews)

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    Cabin 57 "Moose Lodge"
    Kimberly L.

    Enjoying, yet another, great experience at KOA! Love the staff and all the improvements and effort they are making!

    Front entry landscaping. They had a cute little gnome village
    Jessica C.

    Campsites were clean and the property is maintained. There are campsites for everyone: tents, cabins and full/partial hookups. Front desk manager was very kind and helpful. It's about a five minute drive to the lake and to the stores. There is also a little store on grounds ; it has items you may have forgot, and is reasonably priced. They serve limited menu and have a bar. The pool was clean and well kept. There's a small dog area. I would advise to stay off of the old playground houses. The wood is old and nails were sticking out. There's also a little track and you can rent remote cars. This is a great place for family fun or even just a couples getaway.

    Andria C.

    Stopped here on our way to Kern. Clean campground, clean restrooms with showers. Pool was a good size and not too crowded. They had a bar connected to the camp store where you could get some food. Pizza was good and the service was great. The campers followed quiet hours and it was so nice and peaceful at night. We will definitely stop here again in the future.

    Enjoying the front patio
    Joanne P.

    This was my first ever experience staying at a KOA property. Being from San Diego, yes, I'm aware that there are locations closer to where we live. But, I wanted to venture away from home. To explore some mountains and new sights. I did my research for this property and noticed pets are ONLY allowed in standard cabins (no bathrooms inside cabins). I even called to verify if there are certain breeds not allowed. From my understanding- no specific breeds are prohibited. But, dogs must be on a leash at all times and attended. Owners must pick up after their dogs as well. There's a dog area at the far right corner - but, we didn't utilize it. Just have your own poo bags handy. There's a small fee/ dog. I think it was $10/ day? We had two of our English bulldogs- and basically, this getaway was meant for them. Since our visit was at the tail end of winter- the pool, jacuzzi, splash pad, movie screen on the green wasn't in effect. Please note, in the standard cabin- there are no TVs inside- and I'm pretty sure the same goes for the deluxe cabins. You can go on the KOAs website for the property and view the floor plans for lodging. We enjoyed a two bedroom cabin. The front room had the queen bed, desk/ chair, coat hooks, mirrors, bench, and small shelf. Three windows. I let hubby have this bed because he sleeps with the chubby bulldog. So, I had the second room. Two sets of bunk beds, desk/ chair, bench, window, and the air/ heating units. I sleep with the not so chubby bulldog- he just likes to hog everything. With that being said- it was a tight fit for me and Bronx to sleep on a twin mattress- the first night. The second night- I just removed one of the mattresses from the bunk- plopped it on the floor. YOU WILL NEED TO BRING YOUR OWN LINENS!! And it just worked out! Each bedroom had 4 electrical outlets too. WiFi is very strong- at least in our cabin- 47. It was a good sized porch out front. Porch swing on one side and a bench on the other. Our dogs were tethered. A full size lunch bench/ table and a fire pit is set up at every cabin/ rv/ tent site. With more additional picnic sites on the property. Right next to the office/ store/ pub- there's the Kamping Kitchen. There are 3 stations of stove burners/ sinks. If you look close enough- there's a microwave. This area is well lit all night. I was pretty impressed at how clean and spacious the women's bathroom facilities are. On our day of checkout- we left a few hours before the office opened. And we just dropped our cabin key in the gold mail slot at the office door. One mile away is the James Sierra Gateway Market & Gas station. There is also a VONS 10 miles past this.

    No poop bags means poop isn't going to get picked up.
    Rob V.

    Let me start by saying Stephanie and Sierra are the best. They were such amazing hosts and very helpful. The pizza pub has delicious food and beer. The campground in general looks shabby. The cabins look wonderful. But the individual sites and the area around the sites aren't attractive. The whole place is dirt. Dirt roads and dirt camp sites. This creates a lot of dust and dirt on everything. The electricity and water worked well, but drinking the water is not recommended due to high nitrate levels. The swimming pool area is tidy, nice, and the water is a cool temperature, which I like, but the water is foggy. The hosts tell me this is because of the chlorine they use. The men's bathroom/showers are being renovated, so that was a bit of a headache, but kudos for making improvements. It advertises a dog area, there is, but it looks like no one cleans it, or cares for it, EVER! I picked up A LOT of dried out poop before I allowed my dogs in. The roads and campsites had bits of garbage all over the place. I cleaned about a dozen plastic water bottle caps from my site. These might sound like nitpicking, but the little things make a big difference. The many trees in the campground are beautiful. The dead or broken trees and stumps need to be replaced because it adds to the shabby look. Big, beautiful shade trees are much appreciated during the hot hot summer time. Right next door, on the other side of a chain-link fence, it looks like there's a junk yard. This adds to the shabby look. And takes away from the natural beauty surrounding the place. Maybe put up a non transparent fence or wall to help improve. Finally, the campsites are packed tight like sardines. You are so close to the people in the next campsite that there is no privacy. Although, you do get to eavesdrop on some interesting conversations. I will not be staying here again, but I will stop in to the pizza pub for the food and to chitchat with Stephanie and Sierra again.

    Jamie S.

    We just stayed here over the weekend, and though it was quite a drive for us, we really enjoyed it. Among the KOAs we have been in California, this has been the nicest we've stayed in so far for its location. The one thing that stands out to me was the customer service. The Cushmans (the owners I believe) are so extremely customer-oriented. I had a couple of things that needed to sort out about our reservations and they were very quick to respond. We also had very troublesome neighbors at T27 and when I emailed them about it, they were apologetic and sought to find resolution. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: 1.We really enjoyed the fact that we had such a huge tent site. We were able to fit three tents for five adults, and still have a lot of space. If you could, try to get T26 site. It also had a good amount of shade, so our area didn't get hot. 2. Somehow, you will be awakened by loud bird noises. I have no idea what they are, but during the weekend I have been awakened at 5:30 am every time. It's almost as if all the birds are in sync to wake up everyone. BRING EAR PLUGS! lol We will definitely come back the next time we want to explore Kern River

    Tara W.

    Wow, what a fun few days!!! The world is shut down and we were able to come up here and use a full hookup social distance site. We can't wait to come back when the whole site is open. The time here was so sweet and peaceful. We were so grateful for the site host who took great care of us!! Mike was so attentive and was doing a one man show taking care of the site all by himself. We were just grateful to have the opportunity to get to get away. He said the owners just love this place and can't wait till they get to get it completely open again!!!

    LA R.

    I camped here by myself, and felt comfortable and at home. I loved the pool, and the hosts were very nice. The cowboy decor is great and the location is ideal, whether you are on a roadtrip or coming to the area to see the lake/ river/ sequoias

    This was our first camping experience and it was enjoyable.

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    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Lake Isabella / Kern River KOA

    Are there electrical outlets in standard cabins?

    Yes

    Do only locals go here to use the pool?

    I doubt it as everyone gets a wristband upon check-in. You need the wristband to swim in the pool.

    How close is the KIA from lake Isabella?

    The KOA, teehee, is about 3 miles from the lake. The lake is pretty sad looking these days though. It's VERY LOW. :(

    Any good hiking trails nearby the campsite?

    There might be, but I didn't investigate as it was in the 90's and 100'sF. Not good hiking weather.

    Are the dry tent near the river or is it pretty distant?

    The river is no where near this campground. To get to the river we traveled about 20 minutes into Kernville.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Review Highlights - Lake Isabella / Kern River KOA

    Since our visit was at the tail end of winter- the pool, jacuzzi, splash pad, movie screen on the green wasn't in effect.

    Mentioned in 17 reviews

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    Camping on the Kern - Master bed

    Camping on the Kern

    5.0(95 reviews)
    7.3 mi

    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.

    Photos
    Camping on the Kern - Entrance door to kitchen and master room

    Entrance door to kitchen and master room

    Camping on the Kern - Living area

    Living area

    Camping on the Kern - Trailer dining/kitchen area

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    Trailer dining/kitchen area

    Rivernook Campground - Campfire at the river

    Rivernook Campground

    3.7(285 reviews)
    8.8 mi

    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.

    Photos
    Rivernook Campground - Big daddy rapid... I think

    Big daddy rapid... I think

    Rivernook Campground - Shore

    Shore

    Rivernook Campground - Dusk

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    Dusk

    KRS at Camp James - Illegally smuggled pittbull

    KRS at Camp James

    3.6(286 reviews)
    8.6 mi

    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.

    Photos
    KRS at Camp James
    KRS at Camp James
    KRS at Camp James

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    Kern River's Edge Campground

    Kern River's Edge Campground

    4.3(204 reviews)
    10.5 mi

    Absolutely incredible! We had the most wonderful time here! We arrived with our Girlscouts troop…read moreand families. We had originally booked the high tower spot for our large group, which was not ideal. It was right off the main road and not behind the gate like the rest of the campground. After expressing our need to change locations, we were accommodated and it was no problem. We booked spot 19 which was close to the bathrooms and beautiful! Several of our campers opted to RV camp and took other surrounding spots. We are avid tent campers. This campground was pristine! The bathrooms were so clean! Showers had great water pressure and hot water immediately. The best part, there was a golf cart checking in at each campground for extra firewood and ice. They'd deliver it to you and charge your card on file. You could also text the camp host for ice or firewood. The camp store was great. Had everything you could need! We can't wait to come back!!!

    A large group of us (14 people and 2 dogs) stayed at the Boulder Beach Campsite and all had a…read moreblast. When I was greeted by the lady in the office I was surprised how friendly she was. She seemed very interested in who we were and where we were from. She was very engaging and sweet. This made me feel very comfortable. When we got to the site I was impressed with the size, location and cleanliness. It was beautiful, you can even set up a tent to overlook the river. It also came with power, water spout and a sink to wash dishes! Not sure if this is with all sites but it was with ours. Access to the water was very easy and only took maybe a 100 steps. This helped immensely as the heat was in the high 90s. We would hit the river to cool off and head back to the campsite. The water level was low but it made it easier to just relax as the current was strong but not over-the-top. It was also very quiet and at night you could see some skunks and stuff sniffing around. The place as a whole was very nice, clean and quiet. One issue I did have was the toilet issue. In the mornings there were lines for the Men's toilets. Also, the power went out (I understand we are supposed to rough it when camping) mid day and didn't turn on until night. I understand it was not their fault but it was still apart of my experience. Tips: Utilize the Camp Host, he is very helpful especially with ice and wood. And maybe bring a portable restroom for those early mornings.

    Photos
    Kern River's Edge Campground
    Kern River's Edge Campground - Sandy Beach kern River camp site

    Sandy Beach kern River camp site

    Kern River's Edge Campground

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    Lake Isabella / Kern River KOA - campgrounds - Updated September 2026

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