Best Cabin Camping near Ridgecrest, CA

Started coming here over 40 years ago as a kid. This was (still kind of is) a working horse packing station where they ran cattle out for the summer. Most trips out now are aimed at tourists/fishermen but the vibe is still the same. Fun horse riding trips. Great family vacation to get away from everything. Cabins are rustic but have everything you need. Plenty of tent camping in the campgrounds before the lodge. This is a great starting point for many backcountry backpack trips as it is near the PCT. Lots of hiking. Great fishing spot, river is generally stocked with fish on a weekly basis.

We love these campground. We go every year during the summer! Nice clean small campground. Book way in advance though. You can get a site right on the river with no sewage hook ups or get all hook ups off the river. You can even rent a cabin. Really close to town. Take a ride down the river in your tube and walk back. So much fun!

In my opinion, they have the best “On the river sites”, and all those sites make a cul de sac down on the river. So if you have a large group you can all take up those spots and pretty much have your own area. If not, you can just reserve and make some great friends. The river is rushing by literally at your back door. There are little house/cabins also. Even if you don’t camp in those sites, the whole campground is very nice and well kept. Some of the pics were taken right at our site.

A great place to relax in the heat right down the road from Lake Isabella. They have a wonderful pool and splash pad for the kids. The staff was amazing! They have pizza and a small bar to relax in. Most of the sites have shaded trees. They do movie nights and pancakes on certain days. A wonderful little place.

This is the best camp ground we’ve ever stayed. The views are fantastic, the atmosphere is perfect. Near the town and hot springs, not too far from a ski resort. The perfect place.

Overall nice site with full hookups & wi-fi/cell. Had a nice shade tree but it can be real sunny without one. Laundry right on site! Close to lake Isabella and all of the Kern. Great for last minute reservations too, online booking works

Everything was great about this campground. Showers, phones service, WiFi, showers and locks with passcode on the bathroom doors and a pool just to name a few things. Weather was great and we loved everything about staying here.

At first we were a bit disappointed but overall it turned out to be a good location for going to the Trail of 100 Giants and the Kern River. The WiFi didn’t work and the bathroom only had two showers. It needs to be updated but it was clean and the people were nice.

This Campground is not near the river or the lake water. It does have a pool though!  LOL. 

We were just glad we brought a vehicle so we could leave to explore the river and sequoia trees!  

We did have shade and full hook up. There’s a water feature that sprays water in the air and a playground.  There was a store and laundry I think!  We really didn’t spend much time there. 

I’ll never go back there only because I prefer to be on water. 

The photos are not from the campground but these shots are some of what you can see in the area.

8/20/20

So I've camped there at least 25 times. A lot of there information here is no longer true. It does sit beside the lower fork of the Kern River. The forest service hasn't managed it in years the guy who owns the Kennedy Meadows store is in charge. There's been no faucet water there in over 5 years. Pack it in pack it out. The outhouses are filthy no toilet paper the flys own them. It is a beautiful spot but is dispersed camping with a fee.

The hike to Kennedy meadows campground was wonderful and scenic and the campground itself is in a nice location. The only downfall is the trail and campground is shared for horses and there is POOP EVERYWHERE. Somewhere midway through the hike there is a trail leading to Sharon Lake. Very isolated lake with lots of trout - they were jumping out of the water.

Went up during the winter and stayed the weekend The fishing was great The campground was empty and we were basically alone The camp was clean and bathrooms were good Hiking was awesome But it was cold and our diesel fuel froze overnight Found a general store down the hill and had a community pot luck for 5 bucks It was sone of the best family fun

Most reviews here are dated. Campground has been abandoned for years so: no fees, busted up roads, no water, no trash, no bathrooms, no cell/wifi. Basically dispersed camping in an awesome location on concrete spurs/pads.  Each site still had picnic table and fire pit.  The mosquitos here are biblical at night so bring your nets and deet.  Kern creek and trails right from campground. General store and Grumpy Bear tavern close down the road.  Only 2 other campers here when I stayed in October. Great place as long as you are expecting disbursed camping experience.

Right by the river! With amazing fishing. Tons! Of hiking trails, horseback riding for 30$ an hr! Trail head to the PCT

We took our RV here and had a great time. We brought our dog and some family members with us. Great place but they need larger stalls in the bathrooms. I like the free air they provide for you to be able to fill the tubes.

Camp sights are very close to one another not much privacy. The RV sights with full hooks up are further away from the river about 200 yards. The campground is very clean and well maintained. Kernville is less then a mile away were you can get gas diesel groceries firewood or anything else you might have forgotten.

First time to the Kern River. Loved it. We were there August 1-6. The River was a little low but it was perfect for us with our 5 year old son. We were able to float down the river in our inner tubes safely. We were told May to June the river is very high in this area. We also fished in the river. Our camp site was great. We stayed in site 81 in our class C RV. Corner site on a creek that ran through the campground. The creek was great to sit in to escape the heat and float down. Lots of kids and dog friendly. The WIFI was good to stream TV and ATT cell service was good too. The sites had power, water and cable TV hook up. There is a dump station in the campground. They clean and rake all camp sites after each use and they enforce the 10:00pm quiet time. It is a short walk/ride to Kern River Brewery. Or it is about a hour drive to Trail of 100 Giants Sequoia Trees. Can’t wait to stay here again.

Excellent spots right on the Kern River. So many things to do and the campground resort is ran good, no issues at all. Full hookups, close to everything.

Camp James is a clean, spacious park. All sites are well kept, with access to clean bathrooms and coin operated showers. Staff is friendly and available when needed. Prices are a tad high but expected with a clean upscale Campground. Didn't expect a 3 night minimum charge the weekend after Labor Day but couldn't find a Campground with availability in a short time so we rolled with the 3 day requirement . A friendly family of bears made their presence at night as the trash cans were ransacked in the morning and my boyfriend came face to face with a skunk while walking our dog at night. Overall it's a beautiful park right on the Kern River and we would stay again if we could get one of the few riverfront spaces.

Campground is nice overall. Sites are close together and site 4 has a small uphill to back into which if you have a RV or heavy camper your going to scrap hard backing in. Overall nice campground.