Free camping near Kernville, CA
Yes. 20 of the 54 camps within 25 straight-line miles of Kernville, CA are listed as free; 28 charge a fee and 6 have no price on record. The closest free one is Sequoia National Forest, 5.0 miles north, on U.S. Forest Service land. The closest camp of any kind is Headquarters, 3.1 miles north, a fee campground.
Dave has slept at 2 of these camps.
The 50 nearest camps to Kernville, CA
| Camp | Miles | Cost | Water | Nearest town | Season today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | 3.1 | Fee | — | 3.1 mi to Kernville | — |
| Tillie Creek | 4.0 | Fee | — | 1.3 mi to Wofford Heights | — |
| Live Oak Group | 4.0 | Fee | — | 1.2 mi to Wofford Heights | — |
| Camp 3 | 4.0 | Fee | — | 4.0 mi to Kernville | — |
| Tillie Creek #4 | 4.3 | Fee | — | 1.5 mi to Wofford Heights | — |
| Camp 9 Recreation Area | 4.5 | Fee | — | 3.1 mi to Wofford Heights | — |
| Sequoia National ForestDave slept here | 5.0 | Free | Kern River (river) | 2.5 mi to Riverkern | — |
| Hospital Flat | 5.3 | Fee | — | 5.3 mi to Kernville | — |
| Boulder Gulch | 6.1 | Fee | — | 2.6 mi to Lake Isabella | — |
| Hungry Gulch | 6.1 | Fee | — | 2.5 mi to Lake Isabella | — |
| Isabella lake dispersed camping | 6.7 | Free | South Fork Kern River (river) | 2.4 mi to Weldon | — |
| South Fork Rec | 6.7 | Fee | — | 2.2 mi to Mountain Mesa | — |
| Corral Creek | 7.1 | Free | Corral Creek (stream) | 4.6 mi to Riverkern | — |
| Paradise Cove | 7.2 | Fee | — | 1.3 mi to Mountain Mesa | — |
| Auxiliary Dam | 7.3 | Fee | — | 1.7 mi to Lake Isabella | — |
| French Gulch | 7.3 | Fee | — | 1.4 mi to Lake Isabella | — |
| Spring Hill South Dispersed Camping | 7.5 | Free | — | 7.5 mi to Kernville | — |
| Spring Hill North Dispersed Camping | 7.7 | Free | Gold Ledge Creek (stream) | 4.9 mi to Fairview | — |
| Pioneer Point | 7.8 | Fee | — | 1.0 mi to Lake Isabella | — |
| Main Dam | 8.3 | Fee | — | 0.4 mi to Lake Isabella | — |
| Goldledge | 8.3 | Fee | — | 8.3 mi to Kernville | — |
| Cedar Creek | 8.5 | Free | Cedar Creek (stream) | 2.3 mi to Alta Sierra | — |
| Old Goldledge Dispersed Camping | 8.7 | Free | — | 8.7 mi to Kernville | — |
| Horse Meadow Campground | 11 | Fee | Salmon Creek (stream) | 6.6 mi to Roads End | — |
| Horse Meadow | 11 | Fee | — | 11 mi to Kernville | — |
| Chamise Flats Dispersed Camping Area | 11 | Free | Tobias Creek (stream) | 1.0 mi to Fairview | — |
| Frog Meadow | 11 | Free | Tobias Creek (stream) | 2.9 mi to Sugarloaf Mountain Park | — |
| Calkins Flat Dispersed Campground | 12 | Free | — | — | — |
| Evans Flat | 12 | Free | Greenhorn Creek (stream) | 1.6 mi to Pettit Place | — |
| Fairview | 12 | Fee | — | 9.3 mi to Pine Flat | — |
| Black Gulch South | 13 | Free | Clear Creek (stream) | 2.0 mi to Bodfish | — |
| White River | 13 | Fee | — | 1.2 mi to Sugarloaf | — |
| Sandy Flat | 13 | Fee | — | 2.2 mi to Bodfish | — |
| Hobo | 14 | Fee | — | 2.4 mi to Bodfish | — |
| Limestone | 15 | Fee | — | 10 mi to Ponderosa | — |
| Brush Creek | 15 | Free | Brush Creek (stream) | 2.2 mi to Roads End | — |
| Sequoia National ForestDave slept here | 15 | Free | Brush Creek (stream) | 2.8 mi to Roads End | — |
| Kiavah Wilderness | 16 | Unpriced | — | 6.0 mi to Onyx | — |
| Leavis Flat | 16 | Free | Deer Creek (stream) | 0.5 mi to California Hot Springs | — |
| Domeland Wilderness | 17 | Unpriced | Palome Creek (stream) | 4.6 mi to Canebrake | — |
| Holey Meadow | 17 | Fee | — | 5.0 mi to California Hot Springs | — |
| Long Meadow | 18 | Fee | — | 7.6 mi to California Hot Springs | — |
| Redwood Meadow | 18 | Fee | — | 7.1 mi to California Hot Springs | — |
| Chimney Peak Recreation Area | 19 | Free | — | 7.0 mi to Canebrake | — |
| Chimney Peak Wilderness | 20 | Unpriced | — | 8.4 mi to Canebrake | — |
| Dispersed camping area 5 | 21 | Free | Peppermint Creek (stream) | 3.7 mi to Ponderosa | — |
| Bright Star Wilderness | 22 | Unpriced | Kelso Creek (stream) | 1.5 mi to Sageland | — |
| Breckenridge | 22 | Free | Mill Creek (stream) | 4.9 mi to Havilah | — |
| Breckenridge Campground | 22 | Free | Mill Creek (stream) | 5.0 mi to Havilah | — |
| Lower Peppermint Campground | 22 | Unpriced | Peppermint Creek (stream) | 3.4 mi to Ponderosa | — |
The other 4 inside the circle are on the live map — open it centred on Kernville, CA.
Who manages the camps near Kernville, CA
Who manages them: 44 on the Forest Service; 6 on the BLM; 4 on an agency our record does not name.
- Sequoia National Forest — 48 camps: 19 free, 28 fee, 1 unpriced
- Bakersfield Field Office — 5 camps: 1 free, 4 unpriced
- Ridgecrest Field Office — 1 camp: 1 unpriced
Season read for these camps, today
Our record has no season word for any of these 54 camps today. Call the managing office before you go.
Forecast near Kernville, CA
This is the Weather Service forecast for the town, fetched when the page opens. It is not a forecast for any camp in the table; ground higher up or in a canyon can run colder or windier. It needs JavaScript; without it, see weather.gov.
Camping near other towns close by
The nearest towns that have their own page, with the straight-line miles between the towns.
Every distance on this page is a straight line from Kernville, CA, not a driving distance — a camp four miles out across a canyon can be an hour of road. Cost is the audited three-state verdict on each camp's own record: free, fee, or unpriced where we could not confirm a price. A blank column is a gap in the record, not a statement that the thing is absent. Camps come from state and federal agency records, not from a visit, except the ones marked. Seasons, permits and fire rules change: confirm with the managing office before you go. Found a fee where we show free? Tell us on the contact page.