Kern River Camping

Upper and Lower Kern River Campgrounds & Kernville and Lake Isabella Camping

2024 Kern River Camping

The best Kern River camping

There are lots of different camping options in the Kern River Valley. The most popular is Upper Kern or Kernville campgrounds, located near our Rafting Center.

View by section: Privately Owned Campgrounds | Upper Kern | Lower Kern | Lake Isabella | Free Kern River camping

Privately Owned Campgrounds

Privately owned campgrounds tend to offer more amenities than campgrounds in Sequoia National Forest, such as flush toilets and hot showers. The majority of them are located in or near Kernville, which is a short distance from our Rafting Center.

Kern River camping at MRA

Kern River’s Edge

Location: Just outside of Kernville
11 minutes from our Rafting Center
760-376-6553

Rivernook

Location: Just outside of Kernville
9 minutes from our Rafting Center
760-376-2705

KRS Resort

Location: Just outside of Kernville
9 minutes from our Rafting Center
760-376-6119

Frandy Park

Location: Kernville
6 minutes from our Rafting Center
888-372-6399

Camp Kernville

Location: Kernville
6 minutes from our Rafting Center
760-376-1000

Lake Isabella KOA

Location: Mountain Mesa
20 minutes from our Rafting Center
760-378-2001

Upper Kern River Camping

The Upper Kern provides the most riverside campgrounds out of all the Kern River Valley locations. These range in distance from a short to medium length drive from our Rafting Center.

Lower Kern River Camping

The Lower Kern river has just a couple of riverside campgrounds. Both are open seasonally, typically from Memorial Weekend through Labor Day.

Lake Isabella Camping

All of the campgrounds around Lake Isabella have cell phone service.

Free Kern River Camping

There are some camping areas that are free of charge. We rarely suggest them as they are usually overcrowded and may not have any amenities including water or toilets.