Tent Camping Near Bakersfield, CA

Recent Tent Reviews near Bakersfield, CA

408 Reviews of 27 Bakersfield Campgrounds

• A

  Alicia R.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 22, 2020

  Rivernook Campground

  Beautiful well kept campground

  Beautiful well kept campground. We tent camped and our site was close to the rv hook up sites. The rv sites have two different sizes and hookups. Tent sites had access to running water. We were located close to the creek and the bathrooms with showers. The walk to the water was a bit far but fun once you’re out there. The current wasn’t too strong so the kids were able to enjoy themselves in the water. Overall we had a blast.

• 

  Mario M.

  Traveler

  

  May. 30, 2022

  Los Alamos Campground at Pyramid Lake

  Great for a quick getaway but come prepared

  Tried this campground out for a single day/night of camping for my family of 4.

  Location - 5 out of 5 Great location in terms of close to home (40 minutes from Bakersfield). 1.5 miles from Pyramid Lake for a day trip.

  Campground - 3 out of 5. $20 per night, by all means, this is only regards to the tent camping not the people or bathrooms etc. We camped in Loop 4 camp 72. While I was towards the end of the campground, very little shade was available. Prepare to bring multiple ezups for shade. Tent was easily put up as ground is soft. This camp was overrun by fire ants, so had to carefully move around their nest. There was a small section in between some trees that allowed us to get some shade, maybe even a small tent fits there. Bathrooms are flush toilets and very clean. No showers available to my knowledge. Camping came with a cement picnic table and a fire pit.

  The 2 points off was just because of the shade situation. I did go through the campground all together to see which sites were more shaded and out of all of the sites perhaps 4 had some trees with good shade.

  If you are looking for a weekend getaway from the city, good place to come. Just come prepared with multiple shade apparatus.

  **My pictures were taken after 6pm when the sun is behind the mountains.

• 

  Aliza N.

  Legend

  

  Jan. 24, 2022

  Kern River County Park

  Quiet and lovely

  We stayed here just for a night on our way to Death Valley. It’s super convenient from Bakersfield and nice and quiet, by the Kern River. Clean and calm with some nice sites by the river. All have picnic tables and fire rings. The host was so lovely and let us stay for free in a site that had already been paid for (the folks had left early). We couldn’t believe it! So generous and kind.

• 

  Anna B.

  Traveler

  

  May. 29, 2022

  Kern River County Park

  Beautiful easy get away

  We went tent camping and the spots were huge and close to the river which made for beautiful peaceful mornings.

• 

  Jorge R.

  Traveler

  

  Jun. 9, 2024

  A Country RV Park

  Accommodating and Clean

  Very convenient and super clean. The lady who answers the phone is super friendly and helpful. I think it's better for RVs and don't think there are any tent sites.

• 

  Charlotte R.

  Traveler

  

  Jul. 19, 2018

  Brite Lake Aquatic Recreation Area

  Nice .. Not for kids so much

  Our family stayed here for 2 nights. We enjoyed our time but the kids were disappointed they couldn't touch the water at the lake. I brought a small plastic pool for them to get wet in at our site because it was hot. They do not take reservations and they do fill up quickly so claim your spot early if you plan on going. Fishing is nice if you have a boat of some kind. The boat has to have a trolling motor only though. Not a whole lot of shade in the RV sites there is more shade in tent areas. Bathrooms near RV sites were clean and nice. Down by the tent sites not so much there were ants everywhere. We will probably stay here again as it is only 30 minutes from our house but we will bring our generator and stay near tent sites with shade.

• 

  Jennifer D.

  Ranger

  

  Aug. 1, 2018

  Rivernook Campground

  Camp on the water

  I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, not much has changed except the water level.. and nicer restrooms!

  we tent camped by the river ( other options include by a brook ) and had plenty of space and trees. Full rv hookups and rv camping available on the top tier of the campground. Be careful of thievin raccoons!

  Close to Riverkern , cell service and supplies

• 

  April C.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 14, 2023

  KCL Campground

  Great location

  Nice and clean. Vault toilets. There’s water, but not sure if it’s potable, there wasn’t a sign. No trash service, you have to pack it out. There is an area for your horse. Walk in sites, rv/car camp/van/tent sites. It’s first come first serve, no reservations and it’s free.

• 

  Jennifer D.

  Ranger

  

  Jul. 31, 2018

  Kern River Campground

  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!

• 

  Armando C.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 5, 2021

  KRS RV Resort@Camp James

  7 night stay by the River

  Excellent family spot. Beautiful well kept grounds. Clean showers and bathrooms. Polite guests. Respectable to after hour policies. Ground keepers make sure everyone is happy. Full hook up sites make it easy. Shaded tent sites make it comfortable. Camp store make it convenient. Walking distance to town and store. Kern river Brewing company is the family favorite. Pizza Barn delivers to you while riverside.

• T

  Tricia V.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 10, 2021

  Hospital Flat

  Not recommended for RVs!

  This is a nice clean campground right on the Kern River. However, the website says several spots are good for a 30-foot RV. I do not recommend anything bigger than 24 feet or so. The road through the campground is very narrow, and lined with large boulders. Some of the turns are very tight. For tent camping, though? Great spot. And the river front spots are nice. Just expect that others will want to get to the river and will be walking in or near your campsite.

• 

  Sasha D.

  Traveler

  

  Mar. 28, 2022

  Buena Vista Aquatic Recreational Area

  Good for fishing and water sports

  Super dusty, muddy and dirty if you’re off the main camp site away from the RV circle. What balances being away from the main campsite though- is the literal waterfront campsites. Weather is all over and there are tons of bugs because you’re on the waters edge- but the symphony of frogs singing you to sleep at night is great! Was there with my two dogs tent camping. Def not worth the cost if it’s a frequent visit place. Water spouts and flushing toilets/showers are only in the main campsite- not in the PKW where we were.

• 

  Marie K.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 17, 2022

  KCL Campground

  Peaceful retreat in beautiful desolate Carrizo Plains

  Great little spot! I pulled in late at 10pm with my camper van. All the spots were taken except one tent camping spot - but it was super chill so im sure I could have parked in the large pullout just before the designated campground area. Just parked in the parking area of the camp area and slept in van. It was lightly drizzling when I woke up- absolutely beautiful! It was quite and everyone was very respectful. No water on site, people had campfires. Heads up - the road getting there is long and pretty rough, took a star for that - definitely washboard sections- so watch out for that. Happy camping

• 

  Cresta P.

  Guide

  

  Apr. 11, 2022

  Frandy Park Campground

  Frandy Camp Grounds

  I go camp at Frandy campgrounds once a year in October. It’s a wonderful camp ground, very large and well maintained. Some sites are appropriate for RV with electrical hook ups. I always camp near the river, there are plenty of walk ways to get down there to relax. It’s enjoyable to be able to walk into town to have a drink or enjoy a bite to eat if you don’t want to cook at your campsite. I love this camp ground, it’s a great spot for the family. You can even rent a covered wagon to stay the night if you don’t want to tent camp.

• 

  Kramer B.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 4, 2021

  Halfway Group Campground

  Camping with a Pop-UP Trailer

  This was a pretty nice campground. We were at group site 3, it has a covered picnic area and flat area for tents closer to the river bank.

  We called park services to make sure our camper was allowed (Twice) and it indeed it was. However when using a pop up you are essentially camping in the parking lot. It didn’t end up being a bad spot but I would definitely say this site is more appropriate for tent camping.

  Porta-potties were kept clean and trash was emptied from large trash containers regularly.

  Bears are common in the area and there are no bear lockers for food. So keep this in mind.

  Overall it’s a wonderful area to camp and play in the river.

• 

  Daniel J.

  Guide

  

  Mar. 17, 2020

  Beartrap Number 1 Campsite

  Great Winter or beginner backpacking campsite

  This is a great campsite if you want to get out during the winter, but don't want to get stuck in deep snow. It's also great for beginners. The second time I visited this campsite, I brought a friend who was coming out for his first backpacking trip. The trail to get here is technical enough to be challenging and fun, without the high altitude lung busting that is usually necessary for dense tree areas.

  When you get there you'll find several fire rings that can be used during safe seasons. Be sure to check with the Los Padres National Forest site to make sure you can have an open fire.

  The creek here runs year round, so you can expect to find easy water access throughout the campsite.

  Another big plus is the abundance of trees in this area. This worked out beautiful for my friend and I as we were hammock camping. But there are tons of tent sites available here too.

• P

  Pamela O.

  Scout

  

  Apr. 24, 2021

  Mountain Valley RV Park

  Sweet spot along the way

  Mountain Valley RV park in Tehachapi, Ca is a nice mid-way stop between Las Vegas and the Bay area. We stayed here when we discovered our trailer was a bit too large to get into Tehachapi Mt State Park Campground. (Although this RV park isn’t that far from the state park where you could drive and do some day hikes.) Although Mt Valley RV Park is probably on few peoples list as a destination spot, my husband and I would consider coming back for the sheer peacefulness of the place. There is something embracing about the valley location at about 4000 ft elevation- with views of the surrounding hills, minimal road noise, mature trees, space between sites and lovely song birds the 3rd week of April when we were there. Not to mention, the gliders in the sky will mesmerize you since it’s located adjacent to a glider strip. Due to Covid the laundry and external restrooms were closed, and tent camping, which is normally accepted, was canceled for the time being. It’s definitely a place to consider if you’re passing through or plan to stay in Tehachapi ,CA.

• 

  Lizzy C.

  Guide

  

  Jun. 16, 2017

  Kern River Campground

  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 :)

• M

  Michael P.

  Traveler

  

  Aug. 15, 2020

  QuailValley

  Unexpected

  We heard good things about this campground from family so we decided to give it a shot. It’s about an hour and 15 minutes from our home in Bakersfield. That road off of the 65 is pretty decent as we have a 32 foot fifth wheel. As usual some sites are better than others there are some creek side sites that are very large and if there’s water are very nice. They have tent only sites as well. On our first trip we stayed in a pull through site. There is not a whole lot of space between campsites in this loop but it’s doable. They also have a stocked pond on site. However if you want to keep any of the fish caught, you have to purchase them. There are trails to hike. FYI, there is no cell reception and no provided wifi. Personally I think that’s a good thing 😬.

• 

  Sarah M.

  Guide

  

  Jan. 24, 2021

  Bear Mountain RV Park

  Good single night stop

  Stayed here a single night on my way through the Bakersfield area. This RV park has everything you’re going to need and nothing more. An overwhelming majority of the spaces are for monthly residents, and you can tell most of the campers there are seasoned veterans. Right now the office is closed, I believe due to Covid, so you just fill out a form and drop it in a mail slot then pick out one of the sites. The area is quiet enough, but you can definitely hear the soft whir of cars on the highway close by. Camp seems dog friendly with a couple of very small fenced in grassy patches for pets to relieve themselves. There really isn’t much in the area in the way of markets or grocery stores.

• 

  Natalie G.

  Guide

  

  Jul. 28, 2020

  Hungry Gulch

  Good location, bad management

  Our experience here was really frustrating for multiple reasons, but for the sake of this review I will try to highlight what is important for other campers to know. We had a bad experience from the beginning when we arrived at Hungry Gulch and were blown off by the camp host for asking who we could ask some questions of since we had made a reservation online at Recreation.gov and it was unclear what to do since there are not assigned camp spots. Since we had a kayak lesson to get to we called the Sequoia Recreation line and were told that we could pick any empty campsite, put our tent there and then it was OK to leave and the camp host would come along later to check our reservation (again which was done online so we had no other proof besides our email). We pitched our tent, went off for our kayak lessons, and when we got back to the campsite around 9 pm there was another family in our site and our tent was gone! The camp host took down our tent and gave our spot to someone else because we "didn't have the proper tag and hadn't checked in with him,"which of course we tried to do.  So, I had to go find him and explain to him how I had done exactly what I was told by Sequoia Recreation and then he had to drive around for 15 minutes to find us a new spot and didn't even offer to help us put our tent back up that he had taken down (at what was now almost 10 pm). We were surrounded by people playing really loud music on a speaker on one side, another group that was drunkenly yelling on another and loud road noise. Someone came around the sites at like 10 pm and of course everyone was quiet for all of 5 minutes and then we didn't see anyone else after that checking on things. At 12:30 am we had enough, asked both groups to be quiet and while it helped some, both were still making lots of noise. After a long day of kayaking I was exhausted and gave up. We packed up our site at almost 1 am and left out of sheer frustration and ended up having to get a hotel in Bakersfield just to get some sleep. Beware of this campground and know that they're tricky with their sites. There are not a ton of bathrooms and the sites on the periphery of the campground are really close to the road with lots of noise. There are some sites with shade but not many. I am giving it 2 stars for location and proximity to Kern River activities and Lake Isabella.

• 

  Corinna B.

  Legend

  

  Jul. 1, 2018

  Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park Campground

  Weird. Awesome. Historic. Awesome.

  The "Town"

  In 1908, former slave Colonel Allen Allensworth and four other African Americans founded the town of Allensworth in the San Joaquin Valley of California. According to wikipedia, it is "the only California town to be founded, financed and governed by African Americans." At its height, the town included 200 people and a library, post office, barbershop, store, hotel, schoolhouse, church, and numerous other homes and farming buildings.

  Water for the town, however, began to try up as other farms "upstream" increased demand and by the time of the Great Depression, public services such as the post office began to shut down and many residents had to move away to find work. Despite hard times, the "town that refused to die" still had a population of 90 in 1972, though within a few years that had dropped to almost zero.

  Due to the town's historical significance and a public campaign to save the town, in 1976 Allensworth became a state historic park. Nowadays, many of the buildings have been restored and are available for public tours along with the addition of a visitor center and 15 campsites.

  The Campground

  The campground is set off at the back of the historic town and was completely deserted when we arrived on a warm summer day in June, including empty spots where camp hosts would have been. Self registration is easy though (just $20) and the town itself had rangers and volunteers in the visitor center for any questions. Bathrooms with flush toilets, free showers, water fountains and an area to wash dishes were ridiculously clean. The camp sites had concrete pads for RVs, picnic tables with covers, and a couple of water faucets, though no electricity or water hookups except for in the camp host spots. The area is hot and dry in the summer with few trees, so the shade covers over the picnic tables are helpful. There’s also an RV dump for an additional $10.

  The Weird and The Awesome

  I absolutely loved this campground and learning about the town history. It’s quirky, interesting, and such an odd thing to find in the middle of nowhere-California between Fresno and Bakersfield. It also felt completely deserted, like a ghost town, despite rangers and the occasional tour bus coming through. The big open spaces, dust, and sparse amount of trees adds to its otherworldly-ness. If you find yourself anywhere near here, definitely worth a stop. Or if not, their website includes much more information about the history including a virtual tour and is worth a look: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=583

• 

  Andrea R.

  Legend

  

  Apr. 26, 2019

  Lake Isabella-Kern River KOA

  Very family friendly and unique!

  Kern River is a great place in the hot California Desert. This place has everything to make you feel at home. Several large sites for tents or RV's , bathrooms with full showers, a pool, splashpad and water play area. They have these weird Banana bikes which were fun. I was in complete heaven when I saw the coffee bar! There is a big pavilion with cooking areas for everyone!

  This is close to several nearby attractions. They offer great wifi services. Great places if you have little ones. so much to do and all of the staff was wonderful.

  They have Cabins too! I didnt stay in them but they are pretty cute.

• 

  D T.

  Guide

  

  Aug. 23, 2019

  Rivernook Campground

  Large Grounds on the River

  I gave a four star only because there are a lot of tent spots only and I really like some of them but they are reserved for tent only. There are sites on the river with hook ups except sewer, but that’s ok for us. There is also a large grass area they have for large parties like weddings and things. We go every year.

• c

  chalon

  Scout

  

  Jul. 8, 2021

  Kern River Campground

  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

• j

  jade S.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 15, 2023

  Keysville South Recreation Site

  BE CAREFUL

  We were robbed from this location while out hiking and rafting for the day. Lost thousands of dollars in gear, clothes and personal items. Literally everything was gone, they plucked up the whole tent and took it all, nothing left but some tent stakes once we returned. The location is convenient to town and it is nice next to the river BUT BEWARE and don’t leave ANYTHING. We have a feeling it’s people who know the area and do quick grab and goes, not other campers.

• b

  bryan

  Traveler

  

  Mar. 26, 2023

  Auxiliary Dam Recreation Site

  Lake Isabella

  Windy and creepy campers coming up to ur tents and some what stalking you!.