FERN RIVER CG, Bakersfield, CA

Fern River CG, Bakersfield, CA  

RUN BY:   County

LOCATION:  35.436820  -118.876716

Last visit: 4/5/2018

UTILITIES:  None

COST:  $22 plus $5 for a dog

DISCOUNTS:  none

OUR RATING (1-5): Category I. Score 5

NOTES:  This is another county campground that really raises the bar for all others. It is in a beautiful grove of trees along the lovely Fern River.  We got a spot right on the river. The host has been there for years. He didn’t charge us for Atilla. It was peaceful, beautiful and well cared for.

Environment:  A green southern California valley.

Amenities:  None

Dump:  Yes

Public Water: Yes 

Toilets: Yes

Showers:  No

Laundry:  No

Phone Service:  4G3+ (Verizon)

Nearest Propane: Bakersfield.

Location:  North west of Bakersfield on Lake Ming north of State Hwy 178.

Proximity to shopping: Bakersfield. Maybe 20 minutes or so to a mall.

Camping Population: Mostly locals.

Sites: beautiful and roomy.

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RATING KEY:    category - score 

Categories:  I - established campgrounds where one might spend a vacation or several days

                    II -  boondocking, dry camping where there are no designated sites and no amenities but

                               one might choose to stay for more than a night.

                    III - over-night areas 

You must remember that we are scoring 1 thru 5 according to things which are important to us: the environment, cost, amenities, location, safety, camping population, site, phone service 

* There are people who are not full-timers and van-dwellers by choice. We try hard not to be demeaning or assume that they are bad people but sadly, as you find in the poorer parts of a city, there seems to be more crime. Many call these people van-dwellers. That isn’t really accurate even though they do often live in vans. We know quite a few van-dwellers who have good incomes, are full-timers by choice and prefer a van to other types of vehicles. To try to show some respect for people who have a difficult lot in life, I’m calling them ‘residential campers’.  It is only when you get a high proportion of residential campers in an area that you find an increase in petty theft, etc.