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    Headquarters Campground

    4.1 (36 reviews)

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    The view from inside the yurt.
    Rita S.

    We reserved a Yurt. It was fabulous not having to set up our tents. It had 3 beds in it. If you want a fire you need a fire permit. Fortunately it was too hot for a fire. It was very sandy due to the river flooding sometime back. There's a nearby beach that you can walk to. However it was hot.

    River next to campground
    Mirren A.

    We had site 7. At first, I was very worried because the site looked small and right next to the restrooms. Aft3r reading past reviews, some reported odor coming from the restrooms and how it gets loud. We did not experience such a thing. We have seen the camp host replace and take care of the restrooms multiple times. Some said the site was small. We had two tents. One 10 person and another 3 person tent. They both fit under shade. Very spacious site although it's quite right next to site 8. And lucky us, they had a toddler who cried at night time and adults who got there quite late after quiet time. Set up, late dinner and late chat that didn't end until past 12! We heard their every convo so we're pretty sure they also heard us. Since we're not riverfront, we decided to just go find another spot down river. It wasn't busy this weekend so finding one wasn't an issue at all.

    6,742 of rushing river water on 5-6-17. Great rafting.
    Diann B.

    Headquarters is where our friends come to camp and have fun before and after river rafting. We have many a story about this great locale. Some can be told and others... "What Happens at the River, Stays at the River!". i'm sure that we coined the phrase before Vegas did. (wink wink) The river was icy cold yet spectacular. I was mesmerized by the sound of the river surging. If we would have put in our raft at Headquarters, we would have hit tequila Chute. We only wanted to do that if another raft was around. We drove down a bit and hit Kernville/Powerhouse Run (Class II-III): The Powerhouse run is the classic beginner run on the Upper Kern. Ewings, Powerhouse, and Big Daddy Rapids will either be a fun challenge or put the fear of God into beginner paddlers. Boaters often choose to run this short 2 mile section several times in a day. The water was icy cold. There are stores nearby if your husband forgot the rum and if you run out of ice. We had 3 sites together. I was in site 21 across from the river. Near river, bear boxes, restrooms and trees are aplenty. The fire-pits all still have their grates. Headquarters is our place. We love it. (http://www.californiawhitewater.com/rivers/upper-kern/whitewater/)

    One of the local lizards.
    Kurt B.

    I've stayed at a ton of sites and campgrounds up and down the Kern. All of them were operated by the US Forest Service. They're all no frills, super basic sites with pit toilets. If you want amenities go stay at one of the privately operated campgrounds in Kernville for three times the price. I'm giving this site 4 stars because although it's super basic, it's right next to the Kern which is majestic and worth 3 stars alone.

    Part of the campsite 32
    Amanda P.

    Had a great weekend with the kids at this campground. We were able to score a site on a first come first serve basis.. We stayed on site 32 , our site was right beside a stream/kern river and we enjoyed our experience very much. The host, Ken was very friendly. Overall a wonderful experience, would love to come back again!

    Mandy L.

    Headquarters Campground is just a couple miles outside of the town of Kernville, literally riverside and has water & latrines. The sites are spacious, and each site has a table and fire pit. We walked up on a Thursday afternoon, but Friday night it filled quickly. I believe they accept reservations as well. The campsite is very basic. There are no sinks or showers, so I wouldn't stay at this particular site for more than 2 nights. Some of the sites were full of litter, but the Parks staff cleaned it up when he did rounds to collect fees ($18/night). The ranger said we were allowed to gather, but since this site is right on the river, there is hardly any wood, and mostly just sand. We had to pick up a few bundles from the market, which is just a couple minutes into town. About an hour north on the highway is Trail of 100 Giants, which was also fun to visit.

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    4 months ago

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    3 months ago

    Great campsite! Very spacious and quite. The host were so friendly and the camp sight was clean!

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    Ask the Community - Headquarters Campground

    Read that there's tons of squirrels and a few reviews mentioning "bears?" What is the actual situation with the bears as there wasn't anything specific.

    The squirrel situation is not that bad right now. I've camped at this site a bunch and have never seen bears. They do have bear lockers that you definitely should store your food in just to be safe. The closest we've come to seeing bears was when we… Read more

    What are some places to visit around this area? Such as monuments. Only place I've heard of so far is the Trail of 100 Giants?…

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    Review Highlights - Headquarters Campground

    Although the river is really close, there are few direct access points unless walking through other campsites.

    Mentioned in 21 reviews

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    KRS at Camp James - Illegally smuggled pittbull

    KRS at Camp James

    3.6(277 reviews)
    2.8 mi

    Love this place clean well maintained. The campers are families or more just safe friendly people I…read morefeel safe for my kids to roam around all the time. Been there for 5 years in a row for Spring break. My kids never want to leave. I just wish they would fix the volleyball courts that was promised 2 years ago. Love the staff!

    We attempted to stay at this campground last night, but we never even made it to check‑in because…read moreof how difficult the interaction with the host/manager was. We were originally told it was fine for part of our group to arrive later, which we appreciated, but everything changed once we got there. The host spoke to us like we were children rather than adults (I'm almost 40 yrs old) trying to follow the rules. She kept lecturing us about policies, yet she wasn't enforcing them consistently. The real issue came when the rest of our group--who was running later than expected--was told they would have to turn around and go home because walking in with backpacks after dark would "disturb people." Mind you the River in the background mostly drowned out our conversation with her at the time. We tried to understand how this made sense when campers regularly leave for dinner or drinks and return later, but she refused to have a real conversation. Instead, she canceled the reservation on the spot and accused us of being "difficult." At that point, we were never even allowed to check in. All we wanted was clarity on the rules, because what was written and what was being enforced didn't match. It's hard to imagine enjoying this location when the campground host seems more focused on rigid control than hospitality. A little reasonableness and communication would have made all the difference. Still not clear on if my refund went through. Smh.

    Photos
    KRS at Camp James
    KRS at Camp James
    KRS at Camp James - View of flipped trash cans on another day and trash spread by bears.

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    View of flipped trash cans on another day and trash spread by bears.

    Frandy Park Campground

    Frandy Park Campground

    3.6(141 reviews)
    3.3 mi

    I'm very mixed about this review. The staff were amazing. They immediately greeted us and made…read moresure we had everything we needed to make our stay awesome. The grounds are very much in need of some TLC. The sites are spacious and our group was placed together - which made spending time together easy...and fun. They are on top of the maintenance and the bathrooms/showers are quite impressive. My hopes - before returning next year (and writing an updated, very positive review) - is that the owners invest a bit of money in landscaping. Even if it is just tilling the sites. Get rid of the coarse weeds and level it off. So much potential. We will be back!

    Do NOT patronize this place!!! Similar to the other recent (2024) reviews that are trending…read morenegative, the interactions we had with the staff were some of the rudest I have ever encountered. We were directed to park here by a local rafting company, followed the visible signs with arrows, and the "Rhinestone Cowboy" (aka R.C.) who claimed "this is my property" (maybe the owner?) LOST HIS MIND and chased us down with his oversized truck. R.C. SO DESPERATELY wants to be perceived as a cowboy that it is hilariously pitiful!! Encounters with the rest of the staff were equally unpleasant. If R.C. is the owner, then I am waiting for him to go out of business. If he is not the owner, then I hope the owner reads (and responds) to this post. Having R.C. as the face of your establishment is a dis-service to the community of Kernville and the Southern Sierra business coalition. I have been frequenting Kernville, rafting, fishing, and mountain biking for over 25 years and this is the first, and only, negative experience I have ever had with a local business. In fact, I spoke with several local business OWNERS in Kernville, and they mentioned how difficult this place was to deal with, right after rolling their eyes!!! Yelp managers. Please note, that everything I have posted as accurate as to my recollection. I have not used negative language, nor personally attacked anyone. This review does not meet any of your criteria for being contested or removed.

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    Frandy Park Campground - River behind the camp ground

    River behind the camp ground

    Frandy Park Campground
    Frandy Park Campground - Camping spaces with plenty of trees and views

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    Camping spaces with plenty of trees and views

    Fairview Campground - Xao long bao made by the cousin

    Fairview Campground

    3.3(4 reviews)
    1.7 mi

    -Vault toilets , no showers . -No cellular / No internet…read moreservice . -On site Host. -Water spigot shared among other campsite. -fishing, hiking trails -Hot spring -walking distance to McNallys burgers , Johnny McNally's Fairview lodge, McNally's General Store We stayed in site 21 and 24 site 21 is adjacent to the bathroom & across the street to the river Walking distance to Mali's burger, cabin general store and a steakhouse , Mally's General store. To access the nearby restaurant walk towards the residential trailer across from site 24. The general store carries many items if you were to leave anything at home. they have ice , canned food , drinks, sleeping bags, hats, water, shoes, medication and of course, alcohol and also fishing baits. Some of the sites has no shade , the group sites has partial shade and is adjacent to the river .

    Fairview camping area is nice most of the spots are drive thru easy parking we had spot 19. The…read moreonly thing is the picnic are is deeper in not by your trailer. The area is clean and the bathrooms. They have men and women bathrooms no running water inside. They do have water spigots around the camp including fresh drinking water. No showers. No cell service. Really quiet area the stars at night are awesome you can see them dancing the Milky Way. The camp host was only there one night we came the second week of November. You can fish right behind your campsites. There is a store next door. Other than that you are pretty remote. Oh you will see some fighter planes flying by like 3 or 4 times a day very loud.. but pretty cool to watch.

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    Fairview Campground
    Fairview Campground - Site 21 can accommodate 2-3 cars

    Site 21 can accommodate 2-3 cars

    Fairview Campground - Freezing cold water

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    Freezing cold water

    Headquarters Campground - campgrounds - Updated May 2026

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