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SoCal Camping

87%
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· Kernville, Tulare, California
20 acres hosted by Rachel A.
28 glamping pitches
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The cabins are situated in The Sequoia National Forest, overlooking the majestic rapids of the Kern River. Come and hike, bike, dip in the river, or simply kick back and take in the 360 of sky scrapping mountains (even glimpse Mount Whitney!) At once a silver mine along the Kern River, now converted to a fun recreation spot for adventure seekers
Activities
Biking
Boating
Fishing
Hiking
Natural features
Forest
River, stream, or creek
Swimming hole
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87%
60 Ratings · 28 reviews
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Greg L.doesn't recommend
September 11, 2023
A4 King Tent (6672)
Inaccurate description of the tents
We were in tent A4. Yes, the grounds are well-kept, and the bathrooms are clean. However what they didn't disclose is that there are a few tents that do NOT have a firepit, nor is there wifi available in parts of the grounds. Our tent had shoe prints all over the inside walls. The screen window had a huge tear in it where bugs could get in, and the flaps to keep the entrance open were ripped and broken. We were right underneath a utility pole with a transformer. Our view was the back of another tent cabin... despite what they say, there's no USB or outlets in the tents - we asked others with the same problem. Our lights didn't work, either. We asked to be moved to a tent that wasn't underneath the utility pole and where there might be wifi and we just got a "nope sorry." All the pictures of cabins and tents on the grounds do not accurately reflect their condition, location, and amenities. Very disappointed with our supposed "glamping" experience here.
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Serena T.recommends
August 5, 2023
A5 Family Tent (2717)
Very clean, well organised and comfortable. Lovely view across the river.
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Jeiran L.
August 5, 2023
D4 Family Tent (8898)
Pretty Setting, Slightly stressful
The setting is beautiful and clean by the Kern River. The showers and bathrooms are kept very clean and stocked with supplies. The tent was very comfortable and linens were spotless. There are a few drawbacks in the heat of summer, there aren't any shade structures on the property where you would be cooking and eating. Our tent's fly screen was broken so it was hard to air it out to cool off. We were in one of the lucky units that has a fan though so that was helpful. One major drawback is that there is no parking on the property and we did not know this ahead of time. It was just our group of three families while we were there and we still had to park across the street and with kids it's really hard to keep having to go back and forth in that heat to get things from the car. Some of the tents have trees around but ours did not so we had to leave every day to go someplace cooler to hang out/relax. One other draw back is that the people that live on the property/manage it are pretty stressed it seems. The owner monitors them via cameras and then they would come complain to us about where our cars were, why our kids were playing on a dirt pile (ummm, they are kids) etc. I would not go back with kids as I don't think they are used to having them onsite. There is one shaded cooking area on the far side of the property and a lounge but if the property is full it would maybe make it hard to access if someone else was there first. It's a great spot location. Maybe eat out.
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Marisa W.
July 28, 2023
A5 Family Tent (2717)
No Shade, bad parking
The bathrooms and showers were very clean. The entire facility is well maintained. However, the people who work there were more interested in telling us what to do than in customer service, as if the guests are obstacles to getting their work done. I was barked at because they had not updated a change I made to a reservation several weeks ago. As the host seemed frustrated with me, when I arrived she did not explain anything about the site, any rules, where anything is located. She did not mention that I could have access to an electrical outlet in my tent (I did not know until the last day), or offer a fan, or tell me that I needed to move my car across the street because there is no parking anywhere near your tent. Not a deal breaker, but would have been helpful to know in advance (i.e. in the listing) and then before I was yelled at for not knowing where to move my car. It is always very hot in this area during the summer and there is almost no shade. It would not cost much to put up some shade sails, especially near the large tables where our group made meals and ate. Only 1 of the bbqs was usable, but the grills didn't fit properly, so bring your own camp stove.
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Susan L.doesn't recommend
July 28, 2023
E4 Large Family Tent (9209)
“Wait, this is glamping…?”
E4 does not have any shade whatsoever. In the hotter months, expect to feel like you are existing on the surface of the sun. Nights are unbearably hot and stuffy. There’s no electricity in the Es so you cannot plug in a fan. The water and bathrooms are about 100 yards walk. Grates for cooking were mangled and inside the fire pit so cooking on them would be hard. 2 grills near a friend’s tent were decoys with no working innards. The coffee station is nothing but old water with dead bugs. Some pictures can be misleading, nothing is provided for food prep or tableware. (We figured this and brought our own.) Swarming yellow jackets and fire ants make cooking and eating outside very unpleasant. The camp hosts were very unfriendly and seemed very annoyed by our presence in general; however, they worked hard to keep the bathrooms and showers clean, which they were and that was welcome. There were only a handful of tents occupied while we were there so wondered how 4 toilets would be enough if the place is ever fully booked. The reservation makes it seem the property address is in Kernville, near town. It is not. You must click on the “written directions” to see that it’s a further 15 minute drive. The reservation states 3:00 pm check in but the directions (which are oddly hard to access - doesn’t come up every time, and when it did I had to decipher through lines of code) say 4:00 pm check in. In short, aside from having beds, this does not feel like glamping.
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Rich B.recommends
July 6, 2023
B4 King Tent (8409)
8/10 American experience
One major thing that we discovered once we arrived is that the river is incredibly dangerous right now, only professionals will go in the water.Do not take your children or reckless friends! We found one of the few tide pools someone made from river rocks and enjoyed the very cold snow melt water. The air force was also conducting very low flybys in the canyon that ended up being the reason we left the area early. At one point you could see the helmets of the pilots because they were that close. This is no fault of the camp, just something to check before booking. This was our second year staying here for the July 4th holiday. The property is still beautiful and well maintained. Our Cabin was clean and perfectly located next to the river which made for a great night of sleep. If you’re shy get one of the all canvas cabins so there’s no visible gaps between the wooden walls.There are clean showers, bathrooms and plenty of linens available. I would suggest fly repellents or traps, there are more since the rains. Be sure to check in with the host for general instructions (turning on lights, door codes etc.) Ice and small items are available at the store across the road. Business is definitely slower with the limited access to the river. You can go to the larger lake nearby.
Location
Kernville, Tulare, California, United StatesTraditional, ancestral territory of Tübatulabal First Nations according to To respect the Host's privacy, the precise address of this land will be provided after booking
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Hosted by Rachel A.Joined in March 2021
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