Summers in Kern County can be down right unpleasant. With temperatures pushing triple digits, one can start to yearn for pumpkin spice lattes, sweaters, hats and the crunching of the leaves under your feet. Well, the good news is, you can get that by just going higher in elevation in our county--well, except for the latte. The Kern Plateau offers some amazing opportunities to get out of the heat and enjoy the serenity of nature and some pleasantly cool temperatures at ~7,000 ft in altitude. Our family took a short camping trip to Fish Creek Campground. (Ok, I know it's technically in Tulare County, but it's close enough to us here in Kern County) We were pleasantly surprised at the ample size of the campground and the lack of campers--we were the only ones there! To top it off, the nearby creeks in the area were chock full of gorgeous Golden Trout.With two youngsters in tow, the easiest way to arrive from Bakersfield was to go over Hwy 58 then head north on the 14/395 to Pearsonville where we topped off our gas tank. We headed up 9 mile canyon road beyond Kennedy Meadows (which was an option, but we decided to move on and get to higher elevation). That particular route got us to our campground in no time, as opposed to going up through Kernville.
After two days of camping, fishing, and exploring, we decided to take the scenic route over Sherman Pass. It was absolutely breathtaking. The kids slept the whole way (thankfully) and us adults got to talk without interruption and enjoy the scenery.
Do your research before you head out:
US Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/sequoia/
Camping Tips: http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=24243
Camping for Kids: http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/camping+kids.html
