North Highland Park is a part of the NOR recreation and parks system. Located just north of Airport…read moreDrive and behind the large water towers (you can't miss them!) you'll find this 10 acre park. There's plenty of open space for kids to run around or to play soccer. There's one softball diamond that seemed clean and nicely maintained. There were two basketball courts, two volleyball courts (but no nets), two large picnic areas that can be reserved, and kids play toys. This residential park is very quiet and I rarely see many people using it. There aren't too many strange folks hanging around either, which is nice. Frankly, I think most people don't even know about this park!

Love this place. My grandkids and I have so much fun here everytime we go. We do the Bowling and…read morelove it. The staff there is won't and very patient and helpful.

Their facilities rock! Taft is a small town, and I was surprised to see such a cool Recreation…read morecenter here. We were just visiting with my sister and her family. My nephew and brother n law wanted to play basketball. We heard they had a good indoor basketball court here so we decided to give it a try. We were greeted by the friendly staff. Their is a small fee for using their facilities. I believe it was less than $10 per person. Considering that the fee included everything they had there, we thought it was reasonable. I believe there is a monthly membership fee as well which is a better deal for locals. The facilities included a nice area with plenty of cardio equipment and free weights. There was even a small bowling alley with several lanes for people to enjoy. The basketball courts were very cool. There were plenty of basketball hoops for everyone. There were other areas there, but we did not explore them all. Playing indoor basketball was all we wanted to do. For a few hours that was all we did. When the temperatures are over 90 degrees, it was a pleasant surprise to find this place in Taft.

Welcome to San Andreas…read more.. The Wallace Creek Interpretive Trail is a must stop if you're touring the Carrizo Plain National Monument. While you really don't get the awesome views of a large tear in the ground, there is plenty of evidence of pointing that the San Andreas fault is here . Temper expectations... There are also great views of the landscape and Wallace Creek does have some cool twists and elbows. Be sure to grab a guide at the parking lot because there are some fun field exercises you can do while on the trail. Tips - If you're planning on visiting here write down the directions and bring them. Do not trust the GPS or Yelp directions. Wallace Creek is in the middle of nowhere with little or no cell service. Also, Elkhorn Road is a dirt road about 4 or so miles long... Our rental car made it fine, but we had to drive slowly.. - The Fault trail ( Sign Posts #3, 4, and 5) are NOT along the trail on top of the hill ( Numbered Post #1). That was a huge and tiring mistake by us. It's actually the humble trail below it to the south ( Extreme right from the kiosk below the hill - See my picture)

This trail sounds cooler than it is. The trail follows the San Andreas Fault, which allows you to…read moresee how slippage along the fault line has made some gullies discontinuous. It doesn't take long to get the point. When you get to the first trail junction, you can go three ways. Left allows you to see one of the discontinuous gullies. A sharp right is the main trail to other examples. A soft right takes you along the gully rim for a while before the trail runs out. All three were equally worth doing, so do them all. To get to the trailhead, you will need to drive a few miles on the dirt portion of Elkhorn Road. That road was passable by passenger cars. However, when I went in April 2021, Simmler Road was impassable, so I had to take Seven Mile Road to get there. If you're already in Carrizo Plain, I think this is worth the quick stop. I had temps in the 70s, but there's zero shade on this trail, so it would be miserable in hot weather.

It's a little park, easily accessible with a parking lot very close to the amenities. It has little…read moreand big kid play areas and swings. The slides and swings can be wet in the morning so be careful that kids don't end up with wet tushies. The equipment looks fairly new and in decent shape. There are basketball courts, bathrooms, and a few picnic tables and grills. It's in the middle of a residential area, but the houses were not very close to the park. There isn't a lot of shade so bring hats and sunscreen. It's not a huge park but it's certainly good enough to burn off some energy or have a little party or play date.

I went to the Taco & Beer festival yesterday with my niece. What a fun time! People were so…read morefriendly. We got to here two fabulous Latin bands. La Mar Cha is a local Bakersfield band. Excellent musicians and a fabulous lead singer who loves to engage with the audience in sing alongs. Then an LA band called Tropa Magica. Amazing guitar players who threw down an awesome guitar duel. But the icing on the cake was the best drum solo I have ever heard. Good food & libations. Stramler park is one of Bakersfield's older parks. It is a bit rundown but still a good venue for festivals here in town. The grassy areas are a bit uneven so you want to be careful where you step. But they have a huge area with metal picnic tables, so you can usually find a seat when you are ready to eat. There were lots of choices for beer, hard cider & seltzer's. About 7 food vendors, not quite sure. They have only one public bathroom, but there were ample port a potties set up. It was a good time had by all!

I love this park. As a non-profit organization, we need to be able to rent a fenced space so we…read morecan hold our biggest fundraiser of the year here. It holds at least 2000 people comfortably, and allows us to set up a full vendor village with over 50 canopies without feeling crowded. It has a large stage, a permanent structure from which you can serve refreshments, including BBQ facilities and deep pit; and it has a building that can serve as a ticket booth. There are four permanent restrooms. There are about fifty picnic tables as well, plenty of seating for a big crowd. We ended up renting a stage because the bars on the one they have are not conducive to crowds viewing the entertainers. There is a lot of electricity available, although the circuits are a little strange. Pay attention to the circuit boards, and don't overload the breakers. There's a sand pit and a volleyball net; we didn't really use that. It's becoming a little dilapidated, and serious renovation of the structures is probably overdue. They have pretty much gotten rid of the gophers, though, so the ground is a little safer to walk on. The rear parking lot is not marked for parking. This means you need to have your own chalk lines and cones, plus numerous staff people out there all day to make sure idiots don;t part badly. This is a serious problem. Attached to Stramler is Metro Park, and you can rent both at the same time. Metro has a playground for little kids, and that's a nice touch for family events. If you're renting the park, prepare for the paperwork avalanche of your life. Everything about the process is difficult. They require you to rent dumpsters and port-o-potties, to have serious liability insurance, which is part of the paperwork nightmare. They need extra paperwork that most agents don't just give you. Make sure you understand this. On top of that, they require your security company to provide the signed contract, AND a copy of THEIR liability insurance, with the similar demand for extra paperwork. Gotta love the County.

This park protects a small herd of tule elk...there are only six left here in March 2026, so it's…read moreluck if you can catch sight of one. It's $8 per car for day use. There is a guided tour on the fourth Saturday of the month, except December, at 10 am. The park ranger will give an overview of the history of the park and tule elk at the viewing platform, followed by the tour of the small visitor center and a guided drive (you follow them in your own car) through the gates. The ranger was very good at providing us with the info, but unfortunately, no sighting of any elk this time around. Chances seem really slim since there is so less elk in the park.

Plan ahead and visit during the safari! We had a great time and learned so much about the elk and…read moretheir habitat and without the guide we definitely would have missed out. The hours/days for the safari are posted on their website. There are restrooms onsite and small picnic areas. This would be a great opportunity for a picnic and a learning experience. Children much younger than 6 would probably be fairly bored, but we found it very interesting. The guide made sure to take his time and make sure hat everyone's questions were answered and that everyone got great pictures. This is a wonderful part of California's natural history in action.

I came to this location because there was a Zumba event. Normally it's for tumbling for children…read moreand Zumba sometimes. (Not sure of schedule) but they were very accommodating with our large crowd! I will definitely come back for other Zumba events or classes. This location is new and clean! There's places to put your belongings and a clean restroom. Plenty of parking. Friendly staff. And located off of Rosedale so you could literally drop off the kiddos and run an errand or something downtown.

I wish I could add a half star because 3 is too low, yet it doesn't quite make it to 4 stars…read more My family and I went excited for the Family Night offered, to try something new with our children. It was our first time, and both the inside and outside were a little run down. I was happy to see there was a police there to secure the parking lot. The crowd that was attracted to "family night" hardly fit the category, it looked more like "discount night." But everyone kept to their own for the most part and cooperated smoothly on the roller rink, so I had no concerns. The music was also not very family oriented. Near the end the music was toned down a bit and I saw a few more families arriving with small children which was nice to see. The staff were also very friendly and helpful. We didn't try the small arcade or any food/snacks they also sell, so I can't review those. But based off the helpful staff and our children enjoying roller skating, we will be back. Hopefully the music is a little more family friendly.

This is so scary and they should not have a pot of something boiling hot anywhere NEAR WHERE A NEW…read moreSKATER could bump into it and have it spill on them. We went during the day. Not to busy so it wasn't packed. The lights where on most of the time.