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    Buttonwillow Rest Area

    3.4 (58 reviews)
    InexpensiveRest Stops
    Open Open 24 hours

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    Outside
    David M.

    Rest area and bathroom snack break. We arrived like 2:30 in the afternoon they were cleaning the bathrooms.. for the women they have 2 side one with one handicap and the other had 4 plus a handicap restroom. Toilet seat covers plenty of toilet paper. No paper towels they use air. The stall I used has a urine smell in it. But this is a well used rest area there was actually a line for the restroom. Vending machines drinks and snacks.

    Scott S.

    I always find a kind of strange to write a review about a rest area. But, I guess that's how all of us Yelpers come to find out about what to expect at the places we go. This rest area is located along I5. It is just one of those rest areas out in the middle of nowhere along the highway, like so many others along California highways. This rest area is not very large. In fact, it's parking lot and its facilities are fairly small. I guess that's due to the amount of patrons it has. Once you pull off the highway, it's very much the same as all the other rest areas along California highways. You pull into a parking spot, you go and use the facility, and you get back in your car, and go on your way. This rest area has some coin operated vending machines over to one side. They're locked in behind some bars, obviously, because they want them to be protected from thievery. But, they do offer a few essential items you can get from them if you really need them. Overall, this rest area serves the purpose that these rest areas were designed to do.

    Brian F.

    This rest stop sits along the I-5 freeway in Buttonwillow and is located west of Bakersfield. It was a nice rest area with clean facilities. There was a lot of parking including ample parking for big trucks. It even had a pet area and one of those nice filtered water filling stations. I stopped at the southern rest area but there's also a northern rest area across the freeway. It sits about halfway between Northern California and Southern California which makes it a good place to stop, regardless of which direction you're heading.

    Afshin A.

    Good spot to pull over! You know how it is when you are driving for hours on a highway that goes through the middle of nowhere! You are probably tired and want to pull over to stretch a bit. On top of that full of the caffeine you picked up somewhere up the road to keep your eyes open is knocking on the door and demands recycling! Well, that is exactly why the fathers of our interstate highways came up with the concept of the "Rest Area"! Buttonwillow Rest Area is exactly the thing you need if you are driving up north or down south on I-5. It is strategically located north-west of Bakersfield and way south of Kettleman City. Do not miss it thinking, "Oh, I can wait until the next one!" Pull over while you have the chance, stretch a bit, respond to nature's call and take a breather before you hit I-5 again! Don't be one of those who pulls over on the side of the highway and pollutes the shoulders! Come on! :- )))

    Buttonwillow I-5 Rest Area, Northbound
    Bruce K.

    Four stars for a rest area that allows overnight parking. Hooray, I spent the night here in my Sprinter van and had no issues at all though the rest room needed some attention. One entrance that splits for cars to the right and trucks to the left. There is enough room for a bunch of cars and perhaps 40 trucks. Tonight, they were pretty quiet idling away and that provided somewhat of a wall to limit the noise from the highway. As the road is flat here and we're surrounded on all sides by farming, I wasn't listening to through I arrived at 10pm and was on the way at 6am. No issues, no problems. I did not see any highway patrol, but I wasn't looking. [Review 17545 overall - 342 in California - 1063 of 2022.]

    Real payphones!
    Steve D.

    Decent I-5 rest area, just north of a cluster of gas stations near I-5 x Hwy 58. Rest stop is in need of a pressure wash and a paint job. If this is considered renovated, what did it look like before? Vending machines are secured behind bars. Grass is brown from lack of watering from drought. Lots of parking spaces.

    Nick A.

    Nice rest area. It's a small rest area than most, but it seems adequate. It's pretty modern and well maintained. There's a couple picnic tables and a pet area. You'll find a few vending machines as well. Need a payphone? They have three of them. I doubt if they've ever been used. Lots of trucks stop here as well. The flow is good though. They did a nice job with the layout. California has so few rest areas and it's not easy to depend on them being open along this stretch of the 5 so I'm glad it's there and in good working order!

    Nathan P.

    This rest area stop really saved my family and I on a long drive down the 5 South We pulled in last minute off the freeway, and found plenty of parking spots open. We hit up the restrooms and walked around the grass and rear gravel road. The kids needed to run around, so we got some exercise at the rear of the park against the orchard. Look out for all of the dog poop in the grass! There is quite a bit. We were driving down on Halloween, at this rest stop- two women came in up to us, in costume - randomly - and had trick-or-treat goodie bags for the kids. It was so nice and random Big shout out to those ladies, and I know you're reading this

    Dexter F.

    The restrooms at this location were a bit small. Though it was well maintained. East access to the facility.

    11/7/21 Simple Restrooms
    Lee D.

    11/7/21 Trying out different rest areas just so I can do another Yelp review, LOL. :) In my youth, we would NEVER stop at these rest areas; it was always Starbucks or fast food. These rest areas are much easier to go in and out! I save money and I do not end up over-caffeinating or eating excessive amounts of fast food. Quality/Quantity - Clean, but that is about it. Atmosphere - Not much here, but still nice to be able to take a restroom break. Service - N/A Price - Free!! Owner Suggestion - Thanks, but might want to invest a little more of our tax $$ here.

    Maybe they forgot to empty the trash?

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    13 years ago

    Review for southbound rest stop. I can only review the bathrooms and they were clean and well stocked. I'd pee here again!

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    10 years ago

    Stopped here this afternoon for a quick kids pit stop. Place was clean and plenty of parking.

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    Page 2 of 2

    Ask the Community - Buttonwillow Rest Area

    Can one overnight at Buttonwillow?

    Yes. I spent 5/22/2022 there with no issue other than the bathrooms were atrocious.

    View All 2 Questions

    Review Highlights - Buttonwillow Rest Area

    It's a quiet, convenient spot off the I-5 south to get a few snacks in the vending machines or take a restroom break.

    Mentioned in 7 reviews

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    TA

    TA

    3.6
    (123 reviews)

    We were driving to Southern California and needed to fill up on gas. This was the easiest to get…read morein and out of Gas prices are decent for the area. Inside was nice and cool. They have lots of drink choices, snack options, and souvenir type shopping. Overall, a nice stop....

    Very disappointing stay. The property is extremely run-down. The shower did not work, and we found…read morea cockroach on the floor in our upstairs room. To make matters worse, I was incorrectly charged $25 for a supposedly missing washcloth. I did not take anything from the property. The washcloth had fallen behind the small trash can, and it appears housekeeping simply overlooked it and assumed it was missing. I should not have been charged based on that incorrect assumption. When I called to dispute the charge, I spent 49 minutes on the phone with a customer service agent, who repeatedly went back and forth without resolving the issue. Instead of correcting the erroneous charge, I was told to call back the following morning at 11:00 a.m. to speak with the manager. It was extremely frustrating to spend that much time on the phone only to have the issue remain unresolved. Based on this experience, I will never stay at the Lost Hills, CA property again. The poor condition of the property, lack of proper maintenance, pest issue, and handling of the billing error resulted in a very disappointing experience. When I did finally speak to the manager about the refund, he said he would take care of it. Then he immediately called me back and said I had to remove my "terrible" review and then he would refund the $25 erroneous charge. I said I would not remove the review and would just eat the erroneous charge. I will also be reporting the property to the health department and BBB.

    Lost Hills Travel Center

    Lost Hills Travel Center

    2.3
    (7 reviews)

    $10.00 for private toilet & shower October 2020: One large…read moretowel with stain Soap only (shower dispenser) No soap for the sink No shampoo or conditioner Toilet Paper does not fit on the holder Cleanliness in question overall Helpful staff Parking for autos and trailers No signs saying showers and located upstairs in an AMPM so walk in and ask. I have used other road side showers along I-5 (Joe's Travel Center for example) and that is the place to go. They are far apart in distance so hopefully I find something in between. To be blunt this is a last resort option. You better have your own soap, shampoo and towels to bring inside. Water temperature warm enough. I would never return in the current condition.

    I stopped at the Lost Hills Travel Center on my way to San Diego to get gas and use the ladies room…read moreand take a little break. This location is mostly a truck stop location. There's a Arco/AMPM and Dairy Queen. The Bathrooms are clean for a gas station and the staff is friendly and helpful too. The gas prices are also better than the other surrounding gas stations in this area. Parking is ample if you're stopping to order some food get travel information. Etc... There are well over 20+ gas pumps, so even though it's busy the wait for a pump is minimal. I can't speak on how good the Dairy Queen is as it wasn't opening time yet. It is really convenient if you're hungry. Overall, if I'm traveling down I-5 and have to make a pit stop Lost Hills will definitely be one on my list of Truck/Rest stops.

    TA Travel Center

    TA Travel Center

    3.5
    (94 reviews)

    Why this is the very first time I've seen|heard of TA Travel Center is beyond me but I sure am glad…read moreto have stumbled across this location today. While my family and I were on our way home, we made a quick detour to fuel up the car, grab some snacks, and to use the restrooms. I am pretty confident in saying you will be able to find whatever you are in need of, here. Bonus points for having delicious eats all under one roof- Burger King, Popeyes, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Subway. TA Travel Center is grand in size, the establishment is extremely roomy, things were organized, and while most shelves and aisles were stocked, the chips department was bare as a bone. Snacks are plentiful whether you are in need of just deliciously processed foods or healthier options. The restrooms are tidy and have restrooms on both ends of the building- that leaves for less wait times and quicker visits going in and out. The sales clerk was friendly, prompt, and the pricing is fair. 5 stars, I wouldn't hesitate to come back again.

    OVERVIEW: After or before making the Grapevine mountain run,…read morethis is a good place to take a pit stop. But it's far from ideal, and could be A LOT BETTER. CONS: Hands down, Love's & Flying J Gas / Truck stops are far superior to TA Travel Centers any day of the week. TA simply feels old and outdated. The bathrooms are old, the coffee machines are old, and the corporate owners are not doing anything to upgrade the facilities. There have been times when the Men's / Women's bathrooms have been closed for cleaning maintenance DURING PEAK BUSINESS HOURS. Even though there are additional bathrooms, (albeit much smaller) on the premises, if a charter bus unloads a large group of passengers at this location during a peak hour maintenance break, YOU HAVE A DISASTER. C'mon management, it's a 24 HOUR FACILITY !!! Do the cleaning maintenance during slow traffic periods !!! There are many other gas stations at the East & West Laval Road Exits. (With TA Travel being on the East side.). But for some inexplicable reason, there seems to be a lot of flies at this location. So if you open your car or truck door for an extended period of time, you're sure to get flies in your cabin. I have never experienced this problem at other locations at Laval Road. There must be some sanitation issues there that are causing the flies to congregate there in force. PROS: HUGE parking lot. So if you want to walk your dog, or simply relax in your car for awhile, you're sure to find a spot which is quiet and no one will bother you. There is security on the property. (Although the same security company covers other establishments on Laval Road.) There are several food options ri. (Burger Thing, Taco Belly, Pizza the Hutt and Papi Eyes Louisiana Chicken, not mention the make it yourself hot dogs inside the TA facility.)

    Shell

    Shell

    3.0
    (10 reviews)
    $$$

    Was kinda sad and surprised to see the low reviews for this station or any review really but alas…read morehere I am writing my first gas/charging station review. Seriously, I don't make a habit of reviewing gas stations, usually there isn't much to say except the negatives we are all fully aware of and could possible make you dry heave. And Tesla charging stations, what can you say about that would give any type of insight and let's face it, these days I rather not even talk about Teslas except to say ours are vintage, 2021! Why am I leaving a 6 star review? To compliment the lovely cashiers at the station, they were so warm and funny. The place IS clean, food options for fast food and even a seating area inside of you have your own food to eat or want to get out of your car and sit someplace to catch up on stuff. So yeah, should you need anything gas, food, snack, tesla, a massive assortment of lottery scratchers, or just meet the nice cashiers...this is the place to stop at Taft for all those things. Now this will be my first and last review of this kind ever! Unless I see Elvis and Tupac together arguing about who is treating who for a bottle of Mountain Dew or something.

    There are 4 stations but one is out of service. I started charging on one but it unexpectedly…read morestopped. Fortunately, there are 2 that became available. This location is just about the right distance to recharge coming from Long Beach. The shell station has restrooms and a Taco Bell.

    Buttonwillow Rest Area - reststops - Updated August 2026

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