Fairview Campground
1Heads up1 fire 16 mi away
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- OpenThe agency lists it open
- A night
- $36From, per site
- Sites
- 54All of them booked ahead
- Season
- April 1 – November 30Open April 1 through November 30
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 10 notices
In the agency’s own words
Fairview Campground sits in an area dotted with oak and gray pine along the Upper Kern River, a designated Wild and Scenic River, at an elevation of 3,500 feet. Keep reading
Recreation
Whitewater rafting and kayaking on the Upper Kern River are popular activities. Visitors also enjoy plenty of hiking opportunities. There is direct access from the south end of the campground to several foot and mountain bike trails, including the 13-mile Whiskey Flat, 16-mile Flynn Canyon and 4-mile Tobies Trails. To learn more about the Upper Kern River, including safety and permitting requirements and a listing of local outfitters, visit the National Forest Service's overview of the area.
Facilities
The campground, located 13 miles north of Kernville, has 54 paved sites configured around three loops. Some sites have views of or direct access to the river. Picnic areas, vault toilets and drinking water are provided. There is a restaurant next to the campground. This facility is operated by Rocky Mountain Recreation Company (RMRC), a division of ExplorUS and comments are welcome; comment forms are available from campground hosts or directly at Rocky Mountain Recreation Company.
Natural Features
The Sequoia National Forest, located at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada in central California, takes its name from the giant sequoia, the world's largest tree, which grows in more than 30 groves on the Forest's lower slopes. The Forest comprises about 1.1 million acres, and elevations range from about 1,000 to 12,000 feet creating precipitous canyons and mountain streams with spectacular waterfalls such as Salmon Creek Falls and Grizzly Falls. At various points along the river, gray pines, scrub oaks, grass and dry climate shrubs cling to steep canyon walls, while cottonwoods and willows line the water's edge.
Nearby Attractions
The campground provides a good base for day trips to the Sequoia National Park, Trail of 100 Giants, and numerous Sequoia groves in the Giant Sequoia National Monument. The Giant Sequoia Mercantile offers a wide variety of books, maps, gifts, local art, camping supplies and other merchandise. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (760) 376-1269.
What the agency tells you
Six people per site including children
Site length includes tow vehicle
Swimming in the river is not recommended due to strong currents
Everything else this campground posts · 7
Camping is not allowed within 25 feet from the waters edge
Glass containers are prohibited in Kern Canyon and Isabella Lake Glass Container Prohibition Area
Off-road vehicles are not permitted in the campground
Don't Move Firewood: Protect California's forests from tree-killing pests by buying your firewood locally and burning it on-site. For more information visit firewood.ca.gov.
There will be an additional vehicle fee of $8.00 per night on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle in any double family campsite, provided these vehicles are not joined to the first vehicle by a hitch and towed onto the site. In the case of motorcycles, the first two are considered to be one vehicle and the third and fourth are also considered to be one vehicle. No additional vehicle fees are collected for bicycles.
Click here for more info about the Sequoia National Forest
Electric hookups and showers are not available
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 54 · 13 tent-only
- Hookups
- None
- Longest rig
- 40 ft
- Paved pads
- 53 of 54
- Accessible sites
- 2
- Pets
- Allowed
- Campfires
- Allowed, barring fire bans
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Vault Toilets
- “…access to the river. Picnic areas, vault toilets and drinking water are provided. There is a…”
- Drinking water
- Yes
- “…river. Picnic areas, vault toilets and drinking water are provided. There is a restaurant next to the…”
- Stay limit
- 14 nights
- recreation.gov facility rule maxStay
Around the campground
- On the water
- Waterfall, River, Creek
- Night sky · 607th darkest of 1,201 in CA
- Bortle 3
Full this Saturdayread 16:22 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
1 campground has sites open within 30 miles, read 16:27 UTC. See them
OpenBooked
Every one of the 29 sites on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 50 are free on Wed, Oct 21. read 16:22 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
Tell me when the season opens
Watch for the season to open
One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 15
What you actually pay
“There will be an additional vehicle fee of $8.00 per night on the second vehicle in each single family campsite, and on the third and fourth vehicle in any double family campsite, provided these vehicles are not joine…” · the U.S. Forest Service’s own agency notice
Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rate for this season, $36 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 6
Open within 30 miles this weekend · 1
Sites the agency is offering this Friday and Saturday that nobody has taken, nearest first. read 16:27 UTC
- TuleSuccess Lake · 25 mi · 115 of 184 site-nights open
recreation.gov availability, read 16:22 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
55 records · which ones have room · the site map
The sites, ranked
from 53 mapped sitesAll 55 records
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 53 of the 55 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| A | 001 | type not stated | |||||
| A | 002 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 71 ft | 285 ft | $36 | |
| A | 003 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 85 ft | 284 ft | $36 | |
| A | 004 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 85 ft | 209 ft | $36 | |
| A | 005 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | yes | $36 | ||
| A | 006 | tent only nonelectric | 63 ft | 135 ft | $36 | ||
| A | 007 | tent only nonelectric | 63 ft | 73 ft | $36 | ||
| A | 008 | tent only nonelectric | 71 ft | 215 ft | $36 | ||
| A | 009 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 97 ft | 110 ft | $36 | |
| A | 010 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 97 ft | 172 ft | $36 | |
| A | 011 | tent only nonelectric | 83 ft | 122 ft | $36 | ||
| A | 012 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 88 ft | 73 ft | $36 | |
| A | 013 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 54 ft | 61 ft | $36 | |
| A | 014 | tent only nonelectric | 60 ft | 75 ft | $36 | ||
| A | 015 | tent only nonelectric | 77 ft | 93 ft | $36 | ||
| A | 016 | tent only nonelectric | 77 ft | 132 ft | $36 | ||
| B | 036 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 66 ft | 229 ft | $36 | |
| B | 037 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 87 ft | 315 ft | $36 | |
| B | 038 | tent only nonelectric | 87 ft | 290 ft | $36 | ||
| B | 039 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 59 ft | 397 ft | $36 | |
| B | 040 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 70 ft | 451 ft | $36 | |
| B | 041 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 59 ft | 382 ft | $36 | |
| B | 042 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 71 ft | 461 ft | $36 | |
| B | 043 | tent only nonelectric | 82 ft | 433 ft | $36 | ||
| B | 044 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 71 ft | 397 ft | $36 | |
| B | 045 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 63 ft | 360 ft | $36 | |
| B | 046 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 52 ft | 286 ft | $36 | |
| B | 047 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 63 ft | 343 ft | $36 | |
| B | 048 | standard nonelectric | 30 ft | 52 ft | 235 ft | $36 | |
| B | 049 | tent only nonelectric | 70 ft | 267 ft | $36 | ||
| B | 050 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 70 ft | 200 ft | $36 | |
| B | 051 | tent only nonelectric | 77 ft | 266 ft | $36 | ||
| B | 052 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 63 ft | 195 ft | $36 | |
| B | 053 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 60 ft | 134 ft | $36 | |
| B | 054 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 54 ft | 115 ft | $36 | |
| B | 055- HOST SITE | host pad | 40 ft | 63 ft | 201 ft | $36 | |
| C | 017 | rv nonelectric | 20 ft | 66 ft | 163 ft | $36 | |
| C | 018 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 82 ft | 180 ft | $36 | |
| C | 019 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 80 ft | 179 ft | $36 | |
| C | 020 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | yes | 45 ft | 141 ft | $36 |
| C | 021 | standard nonelectric | 40 ft | 80 ft | 207 ft | $36 | |
| C | 022 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 45 ft | 172 ft | $36 | |
| C | 023 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 80 ft | 340 ft | $36 | |
| C | 024 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 61 ft | 255 ft | $36 | |
| C | 025 | rv nonelectric | 30 ft | 63 ft | 417 ft | $36 | |
| C | 026 | rv nonelectric | 35 ft | 56 ft | 387 ft | $36 | |
| C | 027 | rv nonelectric | 20 ft | 63 ft | 480 ft | $36 | |
| C | 028 | rv nonelectric | 28 ft | 63 ft | 483 ft | $36 | |
| C | 029 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 61 ft | 404 ft | $36 | |
| C | 030 | tent only nonelectric | 61 ft | 359 ft | $36 | ||
| C | 031 | rv nonelectric | 25 ft | 56 ft | 370 ft | $36 | |
| C | 032 | rv nonelectric | 20 ft | 61 ft | 294 ft | $36 | |
| C | 033 | rv nonelectric | 25 ft | 45 ft | 358 ft | $36 | |
| C | 034 | rv nonelectric | 40 ft | 45 ft | 318 ft | $36 | |
| C | 035 | tent only nonelectric | 70 ft | 294 ft | $36 |
The agency files 1 more record here that isn’t a site for the night. It names it a host pad. It’s in the table above, marked for what it is, and it isn’t counted as a site.
OpenStreetMap has no toilet mapped within 1 km of this campground, so no site here carries a toilet distance. That’s a gap in the map, not a finding about the campground.
25 of 55 listed
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Limestone CampgroundSequoia National Forest · 2.5 mi
Brush Creek Dispersed CampingSequoia National Forest · 2.6 mi
Goldledge CampgroundSequoia National Forest · 4.2 mi
Long Meadow GroupGiant Sequoia National Monument · 6.2 mi
Redwood MeadowGiant Sequoia National Monument · 6.7 miHorse Meadow CampgroundSequoia National Forest · 6.9 miOff of Highway 99 in Bakersfield, California, take Highway 178 east to Lake Isabella. From Lake Isabella take Highway 155 around the west side of the lake to the town of Kernville. From Kernville go north on Sierra Way/Mountain 99 for 16 miles to the campground.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Pine Flat, CA
Typical weather
Typical October night 46°F, day 81°F.
Coldest night of the open season: typical November night 36°F. Bring the bag rated for it.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or moreOutside the published season
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send
What threatens this place
You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.
Who answers for this land
Fairview Campground is in California’s 20th congressional district. Its representative, Vince Fong (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyVince FongU.S. Representative · California’s 20th district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationAdam B. SchiffU.S. Senator · California
- Your senator, on the same appropriationAlex PadillaU.S. Senator · California
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Fairview Campground, Sequoia National Forest, California
Dear Vince Fong, I’m a constituent in California’s 20th district. I tried to camp at Fairview Campground, Sequoia National Forest, California, and couldn’t. All 54 sites at Fairview Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 29 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Fairview Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Fairview Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Fairview Campground (Sequoia National Forest, California) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Fairview Campground, Sequoia National Forest, California
Dear Adam B. Schiff, I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Fairview Campground, Sequoia National Forest, California, and couldn’t. All 54 sites at Fairview Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 29 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Fairview Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Fairview Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Fairview Campground (Sequoia National Forest, California) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Fairview Campground, Sequoia National Forest, California
Dear Alex Padilla, I’m a constituent in California. I tried to camp at Fairview Campground, Sequoia National Forest, California, and couldn’t. All 54 sites at Fairview Campground are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 29 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Fairview Campground keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Fairview Campground. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Fairview Campground (Sequoia National Forest, California) via campanac.com