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Water

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People

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Camping

Established Camping

Kern River Campground

17 Reviews

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About

Municipal

Kern River Campground features 50 sites right along the Kern River, each with their own picnic table and fire ring. There is also potable water spigots and bathrooms at the campground.

Other nearby attractions are Lake Ming, California Living Museum, and Hart Park.

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Location

Kern River Campground is located in California

Directions

General Location: The Lake Ming Road exit off the Alfred Harrell Highway leads down to the lake. There is a sign at the West Beach which marks the half mile road to the campground overlooking the Kern River. This retreat is only 10 miles from Bakersfield.

Coordinates

35.43554711395376 N
118.87754259745765 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site
Walk-In
Park in a lot, walk to your site.
Boat-In
Sites accessible by watercraft.

Stay Connected

WiFi
Unknown
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group

Features

For Campers

ADA Access
Trash
Picnic Table
Phone Service
Reservable
Showers
Drinking Water
Toilets
Alcohol
Pets
Fires

For Vehicles

Sanitary Dump
Pull-Through Sites

For information regarding reservations, contact this campground directly.

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Contact

General Info

Chandra B.

Traveler

Reviewed Sep. 8, 2023

Great Sites right on the river!

We had a blast here. Collin our camp host was fantastic. Vault bathrooms are what they are. We loved our 3 days here. Tubing, Fishing... though, river was very high and super fast, plus wrong lures make for no bites. But a great time still...

Site52

Month of VisitSeptember

Anita K.

Traveler

Reviewed Nov. 7, 2022

Great Campgrounds

The sites are spacious and private. The public bathrooms leave a bit to be desired but they were functioning

Site37

Month of VisitDecember

Ariya B.

Guide

Reviewed Oct. 28, 2022

So fun

Went with a HUGE group of friends and we all had such a great time. Some of us were in RVs and some were in tents. We all got to stay together no one had to be separated from the group. We were right on the water, super beautiful and relaxing. One of my most memorable trips for sure!

Month of VisitJuly

chalon

Scout

Reviewed Jul. 8, 2021

Easy clean friendly fun

We had a great time floating on the river, sleeping in tents right by the water, bathrooms were clean and easy. Staff was so cool

Site by the water can’t remember #

Month of VisitAugust

Allison M.

Traveler

Reviewed Mar. 25, 2021

Convenient, nice river access

This campground was clean, well maintained, and convenient location if you want to explore the Kern River up into the mountains. The campground runs along the river with some really fun little access spots if you’re lucky enough to get a river side site. The whole park is nice too, with a walking/biking trail to the reservoir, hiking trails nearby, and playground for kids.

Peter C.

Traveler

Reviewed Dec. 2, 2020

Beautiful Campground

It is by the Kern River with paved semi level paved campsites. All beautiful except for their bathrooms. They are extremely dirty, obviously old, and uncared for. I would prepare not to use their bathrooms and showers. I would return only for the campsite beauty.

Tommy B.

Guide

Reviewed Nov. 19, 2020

Nice to be by the river

Good campground. Needs more maintenance and facility cleaning. But, so close to a bunch of recreational opportunities. You can mtb the adjacent foothills, road bike the bike path, enjoy the river or near by Lake Ming.

Kent R.

Traveler

Reviewed Nov. 13, 2020

Only a convenience

Practically in my backyard. The concept is very nice with the Kern River and Lake Ming so close together, but the campgrounds could use some attention. The campground table was not acceptable, I don’t think they’ve ever been cleaned. Maybe an occasional high pressure washer on the pad and tables would be a plus. The two campground hosts said animals eat their prey on the tables. I hope that’s true because it was the scene out of a murder mystery. Not funny. The bathrooms needed major attention. On the lighter side the rules seem to be very slack, and people were enjoying themselves. On cold nights they overlook the generator quiet time. There’s a bike trail that is blacktop to take you into town if you’re willing to bike about 10 miles and very scenic, it takes you by the zoo. During the boat Boat drags the place gets crazy. Very close to the county golf course and they have a great little place to get a burger and a beer. Overall I give it a C+.

(4) View All

Wendy O.

Scout

Reviewed Oct. 28, 2020

Comfortable place to stay at

My husband and I lucked out and were able to make a same day reservation (someone had cancelled). We got spot #24. They were at 50% capacity due to COVID. Everything was pretty clean and well maintained. The bathrooms could have used some attention. The shower area was a bit dirty and the shower head was very weak. The water was luke warm. There was only one shower in the women’s bathroom and one in the men’s bathroom. There was no extra cost for the shower. I was able to take a comfortable rinse-off, but would not have been able to properly wash my hair. The camp host, an older gentleman, was nice and accommodating. The camping spots are located next to the river. I would stay here again.

Carlisle B.

Guide

Reviewed Mar. 5, 2020

Quiet as kept. Nice scene. Good camp host.

I stopped here on my way back to Utah and I'm glad I stopped here on the way back. If I take this route again going to Cali (where I usually go) I will stop here. The campground is right off the highway and even though you can see cars going by, the traffic is light and the campground is far enough where it doesn't bother you at all. Each site has a bush (in varying sizes) that provides some privacy, but the space between the spots is a plus as well. I like it here; hopefully you will as well.

Month of VisitApril

Ady O.

Traveler

Reviewed Jan. 23, 2020

Nice spot

Overall nice campgrounds. Was almost empty. You can hear jet boat noise from the adjacent lake from time to time. No WiFi but good Verizon LTE (25-30 Mbps) and decent AT&T 4G (10-15Mbps). They don’t take cash and the on-site reservation computer was not working so we had to book it online.

Gina H.

Traveler

Reviewed Aug. 28, 2019

Beautiful campground easy to get to from So. Cal.

Camped here August 16-18 2019. Arrived to 107 degrees but the ample trees and cool river made it enjoyable. We were there on a weekend and it was sold out. We stayed at sites 21&23, river front so that made it fantastic.

Other reviewers had warned of the bathrooms being awful and the camp host being mean. They were right about the bathrooms and so wrong about the host! He was super pleasant and friendly! The bathrooms are terrible though.

I would go back again but since I like to explore new campsites probably won’t.

(4) View All

Andrea R.

Legend

Reviewed Apr. 24, 2019

Beautiful

Great stop for rafting. There are bathrooms, fire rings, picnic tables, and a sense of peacefulness. We were only there for a night and slept in the car.

Month of VisitOctober

Teresa S.

Traveler

Reviewed Apr. 9, 2019

Love this campground, clean and spacious.

We spent a few days at the Kern River Campground and really enjoyed the spacious campsites, the river and Ming Lake. Great bike trails, and walking trails, this is great for a nice slow and easy day. I am adding a video to better show you the site, now we did go camping in early April and we had a very good winter. Dry camping only, No Hookups, there is water and a dump station on site.

Teri

Site38

Month of VisitMay

Jennifer D.

Ranger

Reviewed Jul. 31, 2018

camping riverside

rv camped. but could’ve tent camped in our spot, closer to the water. sites are HUGE! rv hookups lots of trees. water has enough pools to chill in. short walk upstream, gives you option for rafting back down to your camp. very enjoyable couple of days. oh! and super close , for a run into Sequoia for the day ( we did that!) we also reserved our spots, so our whole caravan of rvs would be together!

Chanel C.

Legend

Reviewed Oct. 11, 2017

SO-SO campgrounds but GREAT river activities

I come here once a year and there are always campsites available. The campsites are VERY close together, so hopefully, you don't mind making friends with your neighbors. This campsite, in particular, is nice because it's super convenient to local restaurants, shops, and even a brew pub -- it's walking distance. I also love the camp host who is super friendly and welcoming. The campgrounds is also walking distance from the river. You can see the river from some of the campsites as well. We always come here for river rafting which is so much fun. There are lots of rafting tour companies right along the river walking distance from the campgrounds. The campgrounds are pretty baren. No campfire, no grills, no picnic tables. You can gather rocks to make your own fire pit, but it does take some effort to find rocks and carry them back to your site...BUT IT'S WORTH IT.

We love coming here for the river activities and the convenience, but the worst part of this camp is the horrible restrooms and showers. They are currently under construction so I'm looking forward to seeing it when it's complete.

(7) View All

Lizzy C.

Guide

Reviewed Jun. 16, 2017

If you have to go through Bakersfield

If you must go through Bakersfield and rest your head somewhere for the night, this is your best bet! Large campsites, very friendly host and no oil fields in sight 😂

Showers are kept fairly clean, and a creek runs right through :)

Month of VisitFebruary