Page 170 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

KERN COUNTY
A vast outdoor playground with a few surprises
»PADDLE, FISH,
SEE A GHOST
TOWN
Kern County Visitor
Information
visitkern.com
WHISKEY FLAT DAYS in Kernville, above;
Red Rock Canyon on I-14 in the Mojave
Desert, below.
SPANNING THE SOUTHERN END of
the fertile Central Valley, Kern County can
resemble the Plains states more than pop-
ular images of California. The third-largest
county by area stretches from the coastal
mountains, over the Sierra range and into
the Mojave Desert, consisting mostly of
farms and small towns dependent on oil
fields and the military. But in their midst lie
some of California’s finest outdoor recre-
ation opportunities.
Almost 43 percent of the county’s esti-
mated 886,507 residents live in Bakersfield,
known for the roots-oriented Bakersfield
Sound genre of country music embraced by
Buck Owens, Merle Haggard and Dwight
Yoakam. The city is also justly proud of its
dozens of parks and the diversity of museums.
The scenic Kern River has drawn outdoor
enthusiasts to this region for decades. The
deep Kern Canyon, northeast of Bakersfield, is
a hot spot for trout fishing, boating, kayaking,
riverboarding and some of California’s most
challenging whitewater rafting. Camping,
hiking and picnicking are also popular.
Ghost-town aficionados stop at Silver
City on the way, even though it’s actually a
collection of more than 20 historic build-
ings moved from surrounding mining
camps to represent a town as it might have
168 2017 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A
B Y C H R I S T I N E D E L S O L
looked after the gold veins played out. Hol-
lywood has made good use of the rustic
setting, while some tours—both guided and
self-guided are available—make good use of
the town’s ghost lore.
North of Lake Isabella, the manmade
reservoir dividing the Upper and Lower
Kern River, the valley’s hub of activity is
Kernville, southern gateway to the vast
Sequoia National Forest. Here you can tour
the U.S. Department of Fish & Game’s fish
hatchery and book fly-fishing classes
through the Kern River Fly Shop. The Kern
River Brewing Company’s microbrewery
provides a hefty proportion of in-town
entertainment for visitors and locals alike.
On the way southeast to Tehachapi, a
short detour reveals an engineering feat
that draws rail enthusiasts from around the
world: the Tehachapi Loop, a .73-mile spiral
on the busy Union Pacific line where
you can see longer trains crossing over
themselves. Once in Tehachapi, a railroad
museum, a budding wine trail, and the
nearby Cat House (yes, really—a preserve
for endangered felines) vie for attention,
while petroglyphs and red striations in the
desert cliffs and rock formations of Red
Rock Canyon State Park are a 40-minute
drive away.
LOREN KNOWLES/VISITKERN.COM. OPPOSITE: AIDAN BRADLEY