Camp Three Campground

Great location right on the river and easy to find right off the road but still quiet. Really friendly camp host. Highly recommend!

So I've visited Camp Three many more times since this review was left. I think the most insightful thing I have to add to it is that the river changes each year dependent upon rain fall, snow melt, current and past temperatures. It can be a peaceful place to camp or a roaring adrenaline fueled near death experience, to be quite frank. They call it the killer kern for a reason! Life jackets should be part of what you're bringing and kids that can't swim shouldn't be in the water. The campground is in a great location, but the upper sites (lower campsite numbers; e.g. 17 {higher} VS. 46 {lower})have the greater roaring rapids and pose the most danger. Although there is a raft launch towards the bottom that is for experienced kayakers only. All in all I've brought many friends and some family up to Camp Three over the past 8 years and the bottom line is some people love it and want to return, others never want to return because of the river itself and its obvious danger or the summer heat and lack of showers. Different strokes for different folks.

Nice campground along the Kern River. Some of the camp spots were tight to pull into. If you have a larger RV over 24 feet, it might be tricky to get into some of those spots. But select ahead of time and you can pick ones with longer parking spots. Otherwise it's a great location along the river. When we went, the water was flowing, quite strong, around 6400 ft.³ per second, but was great for some class three rapids.

A SoCal covid craziness getaway, but it's also our favorite yearly trip to paradise. This place is beyond beautiful. Sat perfectly on the Kern River with the friendliest camp host is Campground 3. I've came here once a year every year since I was 5. This place is my version of heaven. It's not glamping, but it is amazing! In the middle of nature surrounded by roaring rapids, wildlife, and the beautiful night sky, so peaceful.

Our group of 16 stayed from June 24-27. Thank goodness for the nearby river because the daytime heat was very oppressive. True enough, they can't control the weather, but the pit toilets were not cleaned after the 20th (see photo). We arrived 4 days after that, and they were still acceptably clean, but deteriorated daily because of the heat and negligence. By the day we left, everyone swore they would not return. If I knew how to get a refund (even a partial one), I would try. We've camped at pit toilet sites before, but 7 days without a cleaning in completely unacceptable to me. On the up side, it is only a few minute's drive to town for supplies, some nice restaurants, and river rafting venues. Mike

Great for a lower elevation campground, right on the Kern River! There's greenery, scenery, sand and water. COST:It's $28 per night which is higher than other non-privately owned campgrounds but the sites are fairly large, with decent privacy (for a desert campground) and half are on the riverfront... THE GOOD: It was our first time visiting the Kern River area. We just camped 2 nights over the weekend, with no reservations (May 18th 2018) and we were able to find what I consider one of the best sites there, #45, even arriving late at 8:00PM.Sites #43-46 are riverfront (along with more but it was getting dark, couldn't see them too well)...there are some small trees and shrubs blocking the view but adding an unexpected tropical-esque feel. No biggie as we had a private, direct access white sand beach 100ft from our tent, perfect for swimming on a calm day and big enough for a couple chairs and also a good sized rock to sit or lay out on. It was a great base camp with good fishing spots within a 10 min drive, very scenic desert hiking along the river was about 25 mins up the road and the Sequoia forest/Avenue of 100 Giants was about 40 mins up the road, as were several stunningly beautiful green meadows. Even a waterfall was within 25 mins. Town is about 10-15 mins south. THE BAD:Restrooms- Pit toilets EWW. The bathrooms are big and clean except when you lift the lid up and literally 50 flies come out. This became a very "f*** this, we're going outside" type situation. Ladies, take warning. The Bugs- Do not eat in the dark unless either A: you love flying insects smacking their little fluttering wings at your face, B: you don't mind a variety of insect species landing on you, your gear and your food, or C: you have magic solutions like citronella candles and effective bug spray to shield you and your surroundings. They weren't even mosquitoes, they were lots of something else. Also, ants...black, red...little, big...ZIP YOUR TENT.RAFTING:Rafting rafting rafting seems to be the popular activity and we too had to experience the Kern River in such a way. We made same day reservations with Sierra South Rafting in town for 2 adults and an 8yr old. Cost a pretty penny for only 40 mins of actual rafting but was less extreme than other companies (for families with kids under 10) with Class II-Class III rapids and was also cheaper than other companies. It was obviously super fun but very f'ing short in our opinions. You pay for 1 hour...you get 20+ mins of instruction and waiting and 35 mins or so of actual rafting. The End...

We came here for the first week of June from Thurs to Sun. It was an amazing time overall. The camp host Mark was great and a wealth of knowledge and info on the campsite and general area. Yes what people say are right. No electricity, great scenery, no cell phone svc (only mine worked a little go Verizon lol), pit toilets but I didn't have any issues or lingering smells, and yeah u have to be very selective on your site. Some have limited to no shade. Our campsite was awesome and we came on a relatively quiet weekend. The river was perfect and I'm glad we brought all our river tubes! Pretty damn cold but actually tolerable and refreshing since it's so hot during the day. It was perfect to walk straight down from our site jump in the river and float to the end of the campgrounds and walk back. Here's an awesome tip. If you want a perfect tubing experience go drop in at the Edison power plant just a bit south of the campground and float all the way down to where bridge overpass is and exit to the right. Have someone drive u back and repeat! So much fun...and even safe for kids I say over 12 yrs old...weather was perfect too but kinda windy a few days. While we were there they were in the process of installing bear proof food storage boxes in all sites but we didn't have one in ours. There were threats of bears a couple nights too. One night around 11 a bear wandered into the campgrounds and started using the dumpster at the front entry of the grounds as a punching bag lol. We kept our food locked in the car with the windows rolled up at night. Imagine next time we go back there will be bear proof food storage containers so won't be an issue. The one thing that sucks here if you don't have an RV is no showers. Bring a solar shower or just use a bucket and the hose spigot next to the bathrooms....or just jump in the river lol. Don't drink the river water though you'll get giardia...or so our rafting guide said when we went actual white water rafting. The campground is located right in the middle of good action. South of the campground is all class 2&3 till Isabella. North of the grounds is mostly 3&4. So good location for rafters and tubers. The nearby quaint little town of Kernville will have everything u need and it's about a 10 min drive away. Try to avoid the general store u will see before hitting town, their prices are much higher than in town but ok if u just need ice or a drink.Last tip, don't bring anything glass to the campground. Mark was saying it's some ridiculous fine if your caught. So no beer bottles or glass cooking supplies!Can't wait to go back it's only about a 2.5 hr drive from OC! I'm not saying any campsite numbers, figure it out on your own like we did we don't want our best spots to be taken next time!

I LOVE Camp 3!! My friends and I have been coming here for the past 3 years and we always get the same campsite. Sorry, can't tell you which one, just in case we want to book it, we don't want it to be reserved :). Most site are along the river. We usually walk about 10 mins north of the campsites and tube down to our site. The river has been low lately so the ride down is pretty slow and relaxing. There are lots of rocks on the river so don't forget to lift your bum up when going down because you will get severely bruised. Also, water shoes are a must!!! Not a lot of shade here but that's ok, just bring canopies. Restrooms are clean, water spout outside. NO SHOWERS AT CAMPSITEClose to Kernville. Tons of restaurants, shops, and market near by. Don't be afriad of starving out there because you WON'T! You can in fact do all your grocery shopping when you get up there. The market has EVERYTHING you need for the same prices you pay down here. Items are not over priced! I can't wait to camp and lay out on the river next year!

The hosts Kelly and Kent were very helpful and friendly.We enjoyed camping there and after hiking we lazed in the river.We would definitely recommend this campground.

We camped 1 1/2 nights Friday-Sunday of Memorial weekend & I'm so glad we got this site. There were a lot of cancellations for a Friday night because of the chance of rain, so it was very quite Saturday morning. When I reserved online the only spot left was site 20, which is listed as a "walk up" site meaning technically there's no parking. However, if you have a small car or small SUV there is a small spot right in front of the site & as long as you are clear of the road they don't mind if you park there. Otherwise there is parking just to the right at the group camping sites. As other reviewers mention the restrooms are big & clean, just no lights. So don't forget your lantern. There are also ample water spigots throughout the camp ground, which are easy to access. We arrived at 2am and it was easy to setup our tent as the sites are clear & fairly level. The river running so close was an amazing natural soundtrack to sleep to. The only downside was many of the sites, including #20, are open exposed to the elements. There's no shade or natural wind blocks where you'd setup your tent in most sites. Bring a canopy for shade. If I had known I would've chosen a site at the other end (in the 30-40s) if it had been available as those seemed more sheltered from the wind with more trees surrounding.