Boulder Gulch Campground, Kernville, CA

Boulder Gulch Campground is located in the Kern River Ranger District, Sequoia National Forest (1 hr 31 min northeast of Bakersfield, CA) with an elevation of 2,601 feet. There are a total of 60 campsites. The campground is normally open from the end of May to the end of September. 2 sites can accommodate RVs and trailers between 20 and 30 feet. All sites are currently reservable. Reservations can be booked up to 6 months in advance. There is a fee of $32.00 per night. Some amenities include flush toilets. Activities include hiking trails.
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Campsite Reviews (31)

3.3 out of 5

5 star
23%
4 star
16%
3 star
26%
2 star
13%
1 star
16%
@CraigM6216413 · Camped on Sep 8, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30
The campground was nice but a large group of campers did not observe the posted quiet hours.
@Andym2723036 · Camped on Sep 2, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30
Dirty and loud people, restrooms had used tampons and dirty underwear in them. People played music all day and night, essentially no quiet time, a dude was literally washing himself with soap in the lake.
@JacobG4701344 · Camped on Jul 2, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30
The reservation website says that sites will be assigned upon arrival. This is misleading. It is a first come first serve so dont pay in advance thinking you will get a spot. There wasn’t even a camp host to assist.
@GaryS1862766 · Camped on Jun 27, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30
Confusing place. Poor hosts. Disgusting facilities. Dirty. Tight confusing road.
@KartikAC4561FD · Camped on May 27, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30
Online Site allotment was totally disaster it just tell you on arrival site will be allocate, when reached host said nothing available even I booked month before and he had me in list. At last he asked to place RV where ever find space. He wasn’t helpful to me and bunch of other people who booked online. He was yelling loudly to my friend that he can kick her family out of park like it was his kingdom with no higher authority very rudely. I recommend please not book such place on long weekend. Where no proper management present, rest is like hell with insects and all kind of bad smell. Don’t really want to post bad review for anyone, but if this can help someone to pick next family fun place I will be glad.
@JoseG1304798 · Camped on May 26, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30
Awesome 👍👍
@GerardoBCDF4F5 · Camped on May 26, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-20
The manager of the place is a very good person, very helpful and very attentive, just one detail to improve the cleanliness and service of the bathroom and having showers
@LepageD1181653 · Camped on Sep 29, 2022 at Campsite #FS1-30
Nice place. Pretty quiet and great for that. Far from sequoia forest giant. Nice hot spring in Hobo Campground. Relly nice.
@DeniseW6070805 · Camped on Sep 17, 2022 at Campsite #FS1-30
First of all I realize your budget may be strained due to recent forest fires. However, the campground could use some maintenance. The dirt around the asphalt has eroded to the point that there are some steep drop offs. I am embarrassed to admit I wasn't watching where I stepped, lost my balance and rolled around in the dirt for a few seconds. I jumped up, looked around to make sure no one had seen me and dusted myself off. No blood no foul. The campsites had some cigarette butts and bits of plastic which we picked up. Maybe the camp host could rake the sites once a week. Bathroom was fairly clean. Price was fair.
@AlettaS3986601 · Camped on Aug 19, 2022 at Campsite #FS1-20
Plus: Clean campsites, some with shade and a very helpful host. Minus: Facilities were disappointing: no working showers and no electricity in the restrooms. Surroundings: campground is next to Lake Isabella, but water level has dropped dramatically so it's not as attractive as you would expect. Also, we thought there would be Sequoia trees in the immediate area, but that is not the case.
@LucasM4674297 · Camped on Aug 10, 2022 at Campsite #FS1-30
Really nice place with great amenities, would come back. Better than expected.
@RogerF3989155 · Camped on Jul 2, 2022 at Campsite #FS1-30
Great campsite. Lots of shade, clean campsites and clean portable toilets. My only complaint is that they didn't open the restrooms for shower.
@AndreA8075011 · Camped on Jul 2, 2022 at Campsite #FS1-30
The Lake Isabella and Kernville areas are beautiful with lots of fun things to do. That said, I do not recommend this campsite. Next time I will be in the area, I will look for options in Kernville Pros: - Very close to Lake Isabella. Lake is beautiful and there are several spots you can enjoy it by the shore Cons: - When booking, it says that sites are assigned upon arrival. It doesn’t happen that way. Host was not on-site for several hours, no instructions on site and we had to guess what sites were available/reserved or not. - campsite is next to a busy road and you will hear traffic the whole night - this place attracts large groups and “campers” who don’t respect noise rules. Loud music the whole day including the evening. No way to relax in this campsite - the bathrooms are filthy
@MariusB6914047 · Camped on Jun 14, 2022 at Campsite #FS1-30
Very nice and clean Campground, very friendly and helpful Camphost. Not far to walk to the lake.
@JohnM1144946 · Camped on May 19, 2022 at Campsite #FS1-20
A splendid campsite with a spectacular view of Lake Isabella. Truly worth the drive. The facility has full bathrooms and offers access to the lake for swimming and fishing.
@ElenaS810 · Camped on Jul 25, 2021 at Campsite #FS1-20
Awful campground. Far from the lake, too hot, nobody met us for checking in. Nothing to do out there
@NormaV699 · Camped on Jun 12, 2021 at Campsite #FS1-30
Nice area, expensive for boon-docking. No dump station on site. .
@CarrieM835 · Camped on Jun 11, 2021 at Campsite #FS1-30
What a great campsite for the family and our doggies. The short walk/hike to the lake was amazing and we did it a few times in the days we were there. The bathrooms were really ran down and they got Port-a-jons for the campsites to use. Hopefully they get these fixed before we go back. Still a great spot for camping.
@biancag805 · Camped on May 30, 2021 at Campsite #FS1-30
Very crowded camp ground, not much privacy. Close to the lake (walking distance) with fresh water at most campsites. Plus nice bathrooms!
@BrittanyO174 · Camped on Sep 5, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30
The campground is very large and spread out. There are all sorts of unique sites to choose from. The lake is about .5 walk from the campground but it seems much easier to access with a car from the road or an off-road vehicle. The management of the campground was poor however. We arrived at 3pm on a Saturday but the Camp Host was no where to be found, so had to figure out how reservations worked in our own. We just picked an available spot but was unable to register our vehicle with the host so we received a citation at 1 pm the next day while we were out enjoying the lake. When we tried looking for the host at the indicated site we could not find them again!
@KarenM232 · Camped on Sep 4, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30
We skipped reservation due to weather & smoke. To late to cancel to get refund.
@TylerC587 · Camped on Aug 29, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30
Me, my wife and 2 little ones stayed here for a night. Found a nice spot under some trees which makes a world of a difference. The place seemed very clean. Bathrooms didn’t have working showers and had a weird creepy feel to them, holes in the walls and no lighting In the men’s room. People were up partying till about 3 o’clock. But for the most part our neighbors were chill. The lake seemed pretty low so it was a pretty far walk to the beach. Also, really bad algae bloom going on so don’t recommend swimming. With no electricity make sure you come prepared. Over all me and my family enjoyed ourselves considering we couldn’t get in the water and it was really far away. If they added electricity and fixed the showers I bet a lot more people would be flocking to this campground.
@JohnG407 · Camped on Aug 22, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-20
Whats up!!!!! Boulder Gulch was an all around ok campground. Its the middle of summer (8/22) so it was def hot all day until day break when we woke up around 6. The lake is OK to take a dip in but its got a massive algae problem so I didnt go beyond chest deep. Beyond that its for sure a family weekend get away spot, lots of charades and partying into the night. Our spot was kind of dirty too from previous camper, clean you shit up people!!! First come first serve so get there early and wear sunscreen.
@GraceD493 · Camped on Aug 7, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30
Campsite is confusing. Upon arrival finding the camp host is near impossible so GET THERE EARLY AND GET A SPOT. Camp host came around later (about 6-8pm) to check in and she was amazing. Campsites are nice, we went to one on the tip of a section as to not disturb any kids trying to sleep. Close to the water... but the water was gross.
@CynthiaV486 · Camped on Aug 2, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30
We loved it. The kids had so much fun. Drove to the river which is close by and had a blast.

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