Are you planning a tent camping trip to Bear Valley Springs? We've got you covered. Find the best information on tent campgrounds near Bear Valley Springs, including sites, reviews, and tips. You're sure to find the perfect campsite for your California tent camping excursion.
Hobo Campground is tucked on the banks of the Lower Kern River, north of the popular Miracle Hot Springs. It sits at 2290 feet elevation on the Sequoia National Forest in the Lower Kern Canyon. The close proximity to the Lower Kern River and the shade provided by the riparian forest make it an ideal summer escape from the heat. It has 23 individual tent only sites and an additional 10 sites across the campground.__
__White water boating is popular on the Lower Kern and requires a free Kern River Use permit from the Kernville Ranger Station. A trail also exists at the northern end of Hobo Campground that connects visitors to Sandy Flat Campground. The remains of an old resort can be found in the campground and Miracle Hot Springs area.
__White water boating is popular on the Lower Kern and requires a free Kern River Use permit from the Kernville Ranger Station. A trail also exists at the northern end of Hobo Campground that connects visitors to Sandy Flat Campground. The remains of an old resort can be found in the campground and Miracle Hot Springs area.
The campsites are mostly all shaded by majestic sycamores, willows, cottonwoods, alders with views of the Lower Kern River close by.The trees show off a dramatic display of yellow, gold, and orange in the fall. The Kern River flows higher in the late spring and early summer months as water is released from Lake Isabella. The river can appear calm but can be deceiving with it's fast currents under the surface. The Forest Service does not encourage swimming in the river.
This location is unstaffed. To speak with our main office for general information, please call: (760) 376-3781.
Remington Hot Springs is a free Hot Spring on Forest Service Land located approximately one mile West of Hobo Camppground off Old Kern Canyon Road. White water rafting is a very popular activity on the Kern River, local Rafting Outfitters provide half-day to multi day trips along the Kern River.
$26 - $30 / night
Joshua trees 50 miles closer to LA than the Joshua Tree National Park! This is 2.5 acres of protected Joshua Tree lands in the Antelope Valley north of LA, between the snowy Tehachapi Mountains, and the rolling green foothills of the also-snowy San Gabriel Mountains. My first time out there I saw BOTH ENDS of a rainbow in front of the snowy Tehachapis!! Super dark skies, and a million stars at night. It feels like the wild west out here. Think long dirt roads, tumbleweeds, bones, and maybe some old bullet shells (there's no shooting allowed on the property anymore). The property itself is along a dirt "road" called Avenue C, but I'd be shocked if you encountered anyone driving along there. Except possibly another group of campers. This land used to be the domain of the Ketanemuk tribe, which I think means People From The East. In the summer they would go up and hunt and get pine nuts in the Tehachapi Mountains, and acorns from the oak trees in the San Gabriels. It's about a 20 minute drive from the town of Neenach (pronounced Nee-nack), where there's a general store and a cafe. They make a great breakfast burrito. A few minutes from the State Poppy Reserve, which blooms in the spring with miles of California poppies. If you have a larger group or event in mind, get in touch! We can figure out how to accommodate you.
$25 / night
Autonomy Farms was created in 2013 with the goal of connecting people to their food. The main farm operates south of Bakersfield on 20 acres, where we have our poultry operation. The farm sits at the base of the San Joaquin Valley, with beautiful views of Bear Mountain the surrounding foothills.
In 2022, we opened up the farm to allow campers to come visit and stay. The farm features a pond stocked with fish, an outdoor shower (with both hot and cold water), indoor bathroom and plenty of room to roam. We have a total of 6 sites for tent campers, Vans, car campers and pop up camper trailers - sorry, no RVs or 5th wheels are allowed.
We are an organic working farm, so depending on the day you stay, we may have more activity than others. We have staff on and off the farm coming and going from the farmers markets we participate in. We have three working dogs that love to keep predators away at night by barking if they sense any around. We have roosters that crow, lizards, bugs and insects, bull frogs in the pond, California King snakes, and lots of birds/hawks/owls.
$30 - $50 / night
Hungry Valley SVRA is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Camping is only allowed in designated campgrounds. Quiet hours are 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
Semi-Developed Camping: Hungry Valley has eleven semi-developed campgrounds with over 200 campsites available on a first come, first serve basis. Located along Gold Hill Road and Hungry Valley Road, these campgrounds provide shade ramadas, picnic tables, fire rings, vault toilets, and trash bins. Smith Forks Campground has flush toilets and sinks. Drinking water is not available in the park.
Group Campground: The Honey Valley Group Camp is a large group campground with shade ramadas, picnic tables, barbecue, and fire rings. You can reserve the Honey Valley Group Campground through Reserve California.
Fire / Firewood Restrictions: Open ground fires and firewood collection in the park are not allowed. If you plan to have a fire, you will need to buy firewood locally. Burn it where you buy it. Ask about any seasonal fire restrictions. Pallet burning is not allowed.
Dump Stations: There are no dump stations in the park. A dump station is available nearby in the town of Lebec at the truck stop or at the northbound and southbound rest areas. Seasonal dump services are also available at Pyramid Lake.
$10 / night
San Emigdio Campground is situated near the entrance to San Emigdio Canyon between the preserve's Administration Center and The Crossing. The campground includes twelve spacious tent campsites, picnic tables, potable water, flush toilet restrooms, and a dishwashing station. A small creek and pond meanders through the campground and there is plenty of shade provided by large cottonwood trees.
Tent camping and camper vans/trucks only (max length 21 feet).
Enter through Gate 5.
Guide
The views from this campground are absolute stellar. The sites and pit toilets are clean and plenty of spaces were available. It was all first come, first served and self-pay when we arrived. Drive the loop and find your spot, then return the payment in the envelope provided to the pay station. I’m sure it’s a busy place on the weekends. It’s in an OHV area, so off road vehicle noise is to be expected, but it was minimal. The road in is smooth, sites are easy to access (with a few pull-through sites) and there are a few paved ADA specific sites as well. The sites up by the cliffs are offer the best views but many may be difficult to get level in if you have a motorhome or travel trailer.
Traveler
☆ No target shooting allowed ☆ Arrived on a drizzly day & tried going further down the road to other more secluded camping spots. However the dirt road was slick & minivan, loaded down, was slipping & sliding. Backtracked to a nice spot, camaflouged by a small hill, it'll protect my gear tent. This is open castle range.
Scout
Campground is full hookups. Lake was nice and not many boats. Ground was rough due to holes made by squirrel population. Some minor litter.
Traveler
This is a wonderful campground if you're looking to escape the crowds elsewhere. We were in spot 4 which was right next to the check in board. Despite the close proximity to the road the site was very big and had plenty of trees to throw our hammocks up and relax. Next time we would likely pick spots 6-8 or 13-17 as they were a little further into the campground and away from the main road.
There is plenty of firewood to gather but I may suggest a small hatchet.
The vault toilets were clean enough for vault toilets.
My husband and I stayed Saturday to Monday and found that only a few hunters were left Sunday night and Monday morning and we enjoyed walking through the campground and checking out all the small viewpoints through the trees to the valleys below. The group sites looked spacious and awesome as well!
Pine Mountain Club was close, quaint, and the people we met were friendly.
We are keeping this spot in our back pockets for the next time we want to escape the busy city life!
Scout
The post fire which burned the area of 10,000 acres on June 15, 2024 has caused this area to be closed until further notice. We went to camp but were turned away. Be aware. Otherwise would have been a great place to stay as I have been there before
Traveler
Well run site, with easy late check in process. Friendly on site camp hosts who sell ice and firewood. Quite a lot of rules, and it had kind of a kids camp feel to it. Showers are hot, but you need quarters for them. I only gave three stars as it just not my kind of campground. If you're a family with kids I think it'd be great.
Traveler
Very beautiful sight of the lake and mountains. Easy access from the road. Had a ton of wind and thunder so hard to move further up and away from the lake so we wherent up against the wind. Close to the road so a little noise from it, but thats what made it easy accessible as well. All in all a very nice campsite.
Guide
Grounds seem well kept, the gravel was raked at our site when we pulled in. Restrooms are ok, the issue was that the lock them up at 10:00pm and don’t open until 7:30am. It would be so simple to put a code lock on the doors. You have to pay for WiFi, and the laundry machines are paid for by using a credit card for pay cards and the machine was out of cards. The only way to use it was to create an account with some vendor online! In the morning there were planes taking off, towing gliders, which was interesting to watch
ScoutStayed for two months without any issues
Traveler
We stayed in Loop A on a Thursday night in July. For us, it was a convenient overnight stop. It was a lot less crazy/ crowded than we expected for an LA County campground in the middle of summer! This site is on the lagoon, not the main lake, but had nice views and a good breeze in the heat. Very minimal space, not much shade. But the real issue was that the bathroom stalls in our loop (A) had no doors. I also doubt they are cleaned daily, though it wasn't terrible. Being close to the city, there were a ton of people meandering around, but they all seemed to be doing their own thing (e.g fishing or just walking), few suspicious characters. Lots of families and kids made it feel fairly safe for an urban campground. Not our favorite, but we would stop over here again in a pinch.
Traveler
Campsite was established, picnic table, fireplace, and electricity. Floor is gravel in some areas so bring a rake or broom for tent area. Our site was pretty close to bathrooms that had showers. 1.50 for 8 minutes, uses quarters. Has hot water. Rangers drive by selling wood and ice.
Traveler
This campground has some shade and some open areas.Area was clean and the host is personable. Cost of camping fee is $34 per night. Has potable water and running water in bathroom. No showers or amenities.
Traveler
It usually stay empty and easy to get a site even in the peak season summer and spring but there is limited shades in most campsites and can get very hot during the days. There are not many trees around, Site 42 has really good shade but be aware of pocky leaves from those trees. My air mattress pop both times we camp there. There is not much around to do except pyramid lake close by which is nice and convenient to get to the water and go fishing or tubing. Also close by six flag.
Guide
Having to find a spot kind of late at night after other spots were full pretty level spot overlooking a meadow and review of the sunset roads a little rough getting back in there used four-wheel drive pulling a teardrop
Traveler
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.
Traveler
The campground was great - the spot was not so great. I recommend staying here just don’t stay on camp spot 9. You have to “scale” down a medium incline just to get from your car to the camp flat for your tent. And your downwind from the bathrooms and can smell… everything. Again the campground was great and we were pretty close to the river which was awesome. But stay away from site 9. We’ll definitely be back but will be at one of the others. Be sure to bring river/water shoes and some decent bug repellent.
Guide
5+ years Full time RVer, worst ever campground we have ever stayed at, stayed in many states, long-term short-term, stayed at this one for two months, although had a reservation for three. Sites are too tight, everything‘s grayish/dusty and dirty, you’re near a rail track, that blows its horn for minutes 24/7, that includes 2 AM, that includes 4 AM. Many of the neighbors you’ll see look like they’re on (mental) disability and don’t look healthy. Hot tub is smelly and yellow water too often although they state they clean it almost weekly. I god major depression staying here.
Scout
Been going up there since 1969 had many many Fantastic trips fishing is always good sightseeing is good just all around good place.
Scout
Its a really nice place. Not so crowded and near a small town. Just 12$ per night.
RangerBeautiful area with nice shady rock overhangs to stay cool during the day. No AT&T signal. No tesla signal. There was poor WiFi at the visitor center but at least you could send an email or message. The desert was alive in April! I got #8 which had a nice view. Not too crowded at 1 pm on a Saturday where I got to choose from a dozen open sites. So much better than the Alabama Hills area which was completely packed.
TravelerGreat spot next to the lake. Very windy at times. Lost of gopher holes in the soil.
Guide
Probably could have been a 3. We checked in late 930 but called ahead to let them know. We got to our spot no power. Under 30 degrees with no heater not ideal. They did come fix it in the morning but when we mentioned it to the office they just said oh well. Definitely not exceptional service. General store was very limited. Wi-Fi didn’t work they claimed it was out of service. People drive way too fast through the camp ground. Lots of permanent residents with some pretty rough setups. Upside great location by the river. Beautiful sites and sounds.
ScoutEnough space for our 29” RV, pavement was really ok for desert, water, toilets in the morning full of insects, but that’s desert. You also have Wi-Fi at the Visitors Center which we really loved. Our spot had view to both sites of the rocks.
TravelerIt’s a pack in and pack out camp ground. Apache canyon trail getting is was a fun drive. I used my 4x4 but could easy done without. Not a soul was there. Could see it getting busy during the summer though.
Traveler
Came as a going away trip. Great little camp ground. The park ranger was kind and knowledgeable of where to get decently priced firewood. Close to amazing hiking trails and town so if you needed anything, it was just down the road.
TravelerMy partner and I canceled our booking here after a short drive to our “campsite”… everyone seemed to be camping in what looked like dirt parking spots with cheap fire rings with no space or privacy. The campground was rundown and poorly maintained… looks more like a cheap trailer park than whatever they’re advertising on the website. After driving almost two hours to this location… we will admit we were incredibly disappointed with what we found. Don’t waste your money.
TravelerMy partner and I stayed here after a campground down the road overbooked us for a weekend, and it ended up being a lovely trip. The campsites were clean and spacious, the bathrooms were sanitary and showers were hot. Only downside happen to be the on-site general store was shut down the whole weekend.
Tent camping near Bear Valley Springs, California, offers a variety of scenic locations and unique experiences for outdoor enthusiasts looking to immerse themselves in nature.
Frequently Asked Questions
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Bear Valley Springs, CA is Breckenridge Campground with a 3.8-star rating from 4 reviews.
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TheDyrt.com has all 32 tent camping locations near Bear Valley Springs, CA, with real photos and reviews from campers.
