Hungry Gulch Campground, Kernville, CA

Hungry 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 2,667 feet. There are a total of 76 campsites. The campground is normally open from the end of May to mid 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.

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Campsite Reviews (30)

2.3 out of 5

5 star		7%
4 star		20%
3 star		13%
2 star		20%
1 star		40%

@StevenF2888379 · Camped on Aug 29, 2024 at Campsite #FS1-20

This was the last time I camp here with my family. I've been coming to these campgrounds for the last 30 years and we've put up with a lot these last 3. The first 2 nights there were no lights in the restrooms and when they finally turned on the electricity they ended up closing all the restrooms and put porter potty out. When I asked the camp host that men's toilet was clogged she replied that that was not her problem! Last year the restrooms were closed because of a drainage problem and now this. It sucks but I guess paying the extra money to have clean bathrooms, electricity and a shower will be worth it from now on.

@DonaldF615068E · Camped on May 10, 2024 at Campsite #FS1-20

The grounds were pretty much unkept , Overgrown With foxtails. A couple of the spaces had hose bibs with threads on the end. Where was most of the others did not wouldve been helpful to have so We could fill up supply. Otherwise, it was very quiet. Our host Randy was very amiable since the park was relatively empty. He allowed us to pick whichever spot we wanted and even move to a different spot, which was super nice.

@MikhailP923926 · Camped on Sep 1, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30

The place is very crowded, but most importantly, the host doesn't manage it at all. We had a very noisy party next to our campground, and despite strict quiet rules on paper (10p to 8am), in practice, it was loud music and singing the whole night, and the host did not care at a slightest, despite multiple complaints.We ended up leaving after the first night, it was unbearable.Not recommended if you actually want to relax.

@Tamarav685E50A · Camped on Jul 20, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30

Sorry, but the showers were not working.And the toilet was disgusting! There was a frog in the men's room!! Really?We checked and decided NOT to use the restrooms.

@AmandaM8429553 · Camped on Jul 19, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30

We only stayed one night and left earlier than planned. Bathrooms were a mess, no toilet paper in the mens room, since doors were left open lizards and frogs made the bathrooms their home. Staff spent an hour cleaning the bathroom the morning after we arrived but still did not replace the toilet paper. We were the only guests at the campground the one night we stayed. It was evident trash had not be handled for several days. I would not stay here again.

@JohnM1144946 · Camped on Jul 1, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30

Amazing campsite

@EduardoJ0430DA · Camped on Jun 30, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30

It was a very good spot with a nice lake view. But it wasn’t showers and toilets.

@KarlaHC3E210F4 · Camped on Jun 30, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-30

Super nice place I wish the place have water around but the campground in front have plenty know 😄and Harle was so helpful and very patient thank you so much⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

@AnthonyD543568 · Camped on Jun 16, 2023 at Campsite #FS1-20

Showers not working. If I would have know I would have came prepared.

@NickG3725346 · Camped on May 28, 2022 at Campsite #FS1-30

Not the vibe. No campfires and very small campsites, all very close together. No lake access. Do yourself a favor and drive another hour or two in literally any other direction and you’ll find a better spot

@LauraC7322672 · Camped on Jul 17, 2021 at Campsite #FS1-30

July=heat stroke

@laurac966 · Camped on Jul 17, 2021 at Campsite #FS1-30

July=heat stroke

@PeterB9363957 · Camped on Sep 1, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

Sadly I spent the majority of my visit cleaning up trash and avoiding smoke. I think I counted at least two dozen illegal fire rings along the Kern River in 3 days as I was picking up cigarette butts, solo cups, beer bottles, folding chairs and fishing tackle. One of my favorite places on earth and I doubt I'll ever return because it's such a sad/disgusting sight to see.

@PeterB846 · Camped on Sep 1, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

@FionaP571 · Camped on Aug 14, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

lovely campsite, very safe, great bathrooms, friendly neighbors

@FionaP9030423 · Camped on Aug 14, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

lovely campsite, very safe, great bathrooms, friendly neighbors

@Alexander40651 · Camped on Aug 7, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

Only one toilet in men's bathroom that door doesn't lock, no toilet paper most of the time. Many sites have much more than 6 people per site. Very noisy with loud people and guests running generators and kids running around.

@AlexanderW948 · Camped on Aug 7, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

@MariyaR382 · Camped on Jul 25, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

We have reserved a place at Hungry Gulch campground, however when we arrived the Host told us that he has no place for us. This is not what you expect when doing a reservation online. Luckily he redirected us to the Tillie Creek campground and Host at Tillie Creek was kind to admit us there with existing reservation. Tillie Creek has more space between sites and it felt less crowded and more peaceful.

@NatalieG347 · Camped on Jul 25, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

Our experience here was really frustrating for multiple reasons, but for the sake of this review I will try to highlight what is important for other campers to know. We had a bad experience from the beginning when we arrived at Hungry Gulch when we were blown off by the camp host for asking who we could ask some questions of since we had made a reservation online and it was unclear what to do since there are not assigned camp spots. Since we had a kayak lesson to get to we called the Sequoia Recreation line and were told that we could pick any empty campsite, put our tent there and then it was OK to leave and the camp host would come along later to check our reservation (again which was done online so we had no other proof besides our email). We pitched our tent, went off for our kayak lessons, and when we got back to the campsite around 9 pm there was another family in our site and our tent was gone! The camp host took down our tent and gave our spot to someone else because we "didn't have the proper tag and hadn't checked in with him." Of course, I was LIVID! So, I had to go find him and explain to him how I had done exactly what I was told by Sequoia Recreation and then he had to drive around for 15 minutes to find us a new spot and didn't even offer to help us put our tent back up that he had taken down. We were surrounded by people playing really loud music on a speaker on one side, another group that was drunkenly yelling on another and loud road noise. Someone came around the sites at like 10 pm and of course everyone was quiet for all of 5 minutes and then we didn't see anyone else after that checking on things. At 12:30 am I had enough, asked both groups to be quiet and while it helped some, both were still making lots of noise. After a long day of kayaking I was exhausted and gave up. We packed up our site at almost 1 am and left out of sheer frustration and ended up having to get a hotel in Bakersfield just to get some sleep. Believe the bad reviews!

@NatalieG860260 · Camped on Jul 25, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

@MariyaR1980909 · Camped on Jul 25, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

@DanielC8838163 · Camped on Jul 24, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

Our site had no shade starting @ 9:30am and it was HOT. Luckily we had our canopy and tarp to extend the shaded area. Bathroom was pretty nasty in one of the stalls. Poop on the seat, overflow, etc. There were bugs but our mosquito coils and thermacell worked very well. Saw a lot of shooting stars! Lake isabella was in full algae bloom. Had to walk to a different part of the lake where the water looked safer to swim in, though many people were swimming in the super green algae waters anyway.

@AudraY3765304 · Camped on Jul 24, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

This is our favorite campground near Lake Isabella. Good proximity to Kernville and town of Lake Isabella, easy to drive up to the Trail of 100 Giants. The campground hosts have been pretty laid-back over the years, sometimes to a fault...when we have camped here, the hosts aren't the best at keeping the restrooms clean and stocked. They are always nice and accommodating, but lax about rules. The people at the campground walk through your campsite at all hours of the day and night; loud music plays most evenings several hours past quiet time. But somehow it's all okay, everyone is pretty chill and friendly, singing and laughing, and it's a great place to spend time with family.

@danielc723 · Camped on Jul 24, 2020 at Campsite #FS1-30

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