Socal Out

This was the perfect place for our first camping trip and 5th yr anniversary (wood). Everything was great from the facilities to the cabin. CARRIE, our host was fantastic. The views, sleeping arrangements, and the over all experience were more than expected!!

We just got back from a lovely Labor Day weekend in sequoia. 13 of us stayed across four cabins at SoCal out and had a great time. When we were looking for places to stay we stumbled across so cal out and were pretty miffed by the daunting reviews we read across the board. Though the same few angry people seem to be posting across all the platforms, their words definitely instilled enough doubt to give us pause. So now I'm going to try to alleviate any concerns you may have, and help you decide if this is a place you would like to stay. My instinct going into this weekend was that the people who were so mad about the accommodations were probably people who should not be in the wilderness in the first place...hotel people. I was expecting camping, and with that appropriate state of mind I was not at all disappointed! The cabin / tents were all cute and clean. We stayed in c3-5 and d3. The C cabins were definitely our preferred and felt more private with an amazing view. I am VERY particular about beds and honestly have slept in more uncomfortable beds in hotels that cost a lot more money. I was worried about being hot but it was actually damn cold at night so the number of blankets on the bed was perfect! Each of our cabins had a private fire pit. There was a washing station nearby that was always available. The bathrooms were a bit of a walk from our part of camp but all clean and private. The river access was clear and easy. We took our kids down to play in the equivalent of a tide pool and it was ideal for little ones because it was completely still with Sandy embankment. I also never had any issues with communication? I texted the number and almost always got a response immediately, if not within a few hours. When I needed anything on site i what's app'd Carrie and she also responded quickly and affirmatively. I feel like people have unrealistic expectations about this place and are being hard on it. We drove up to the trail of 100 giants and passed all the other camp grounds and they were gloried parking lots with porta potties. This place was leaps and bounds better! If you want to go camping but don't want the hassle of pitching a tent or sleeping on the floor (no thanks) this place is perfect. It has amenities that make the price point worthwhile BUT this all said there are some things that I would recommend could be improved to be a slam dunk at the PP. - bigger tables offered or rented. The tiny circular tables don't do much and are certainly not adequate for food prep. Know your crowd and that people are coming to make food and be outside - we need more to work with! Would be a nice touch and added amenity because it just feels like it should be there. The picnic tables are nice - build more!- the coffee station is just hot water (that was empty whenever we tried to get) with Folgers. EASY place to improve...buy some good beans and actually have coffee available. - the shower situation. Only a handful of us got a hot shower...if offering hot showers pls have hot showers. All in all everyone in our party had a great time. The camp was full and we never saw anyone complaining. We will definitely go back next time we visit the Kern river valley and are really happy we didn't let the bad reviews scare us off...there are little improvements that can make this place impeccable but it was definitely a great time! Thank you for having us

If you read the Google reviews, you'll get a mix of folks that have rafted with the SoCal guides and the folks that have stayed at the SoCal campground. If you read the TripAdvisor reviews....then you get a more accurate depiction of what this place is like. Unfortunately, we did not read the TripAdvisor reviews until after attempting to cancel our reservation and getting charged full price for two nights, regardless. This place is eventually going to get reported to the bureau...if not hit with a lawsuit first. What a sour way to ruin Kernville visitors' camping trips.

1. Terribly managed business. Very-hard/impossible to reach business owner and/or service provider.2. We had a booking for one night through Hotels.com. once we arrived, found that our allotted Cabin was locked. We texted/called business owners repeatedly to get the lock code without any luck. So ended up paying twice the amount to another business for an emergency stay. I saw other several guests in same situation.To some guests, lock code was provided in advance over text but not to us. 3. Our booking was for a cabin with 2 beds while the allotted cabin had a single bed. Another guest had paid for a cabin with 3 beds and they were allotted a single bed cabin too. Like us they were not able to reach the business owner either and had to look for alternative place of stay.

I booked the private family campsite months in advance for June 2024 and paid full price of almost $1200 online at the time of reservation. When we arrive to check in we are asked by strangers at the campsite why we are there and they tell us they rented the entire campsite out for a wedding. We are completely shocked and show them the email confirmation with the reservation details and then go to find the managers office to try and get answers. I was told that they double booked the campsite, our name was showing in their system however they did not save any cabins for us. Carrie then told us the bride was upset and there was nothing she could do for us. She stated in person we would be refunded our money for their mistake. Later we get a call back from Ben saying they were able to talk to the bride and can move people around to find us tents and we can come back. We let them know we were already on the way back home and didn't feel comfortable going back after the events that happened to please just continue with the refund. It has been almost 2 months and the company will not reply to calls / emails / or text messages, we still have not received a refund or any communication back.Do not bother with this shady company.I would not wish this type of stress and frustrations on anyone in the whole world.They stole $1200 from my family without providing any service.

*SCAM* This place is a blatant scam. They intentionally lie on their website and admitted it to my face.1. When we arrived we were shocked how different the campground looked from the pictures. And for their larger tents, the website says "private bathrooms and showers" (see pic). Not true. It's dorm style and in the worst possible way.2. Before my trip I texted with them direct and specifically asked questions about their bathrooms and fire pits. They lied again (see pic)3. One of the employees named Carrie then said she would call the owner Bennett, who lives in NY. I waited an hour for her to come back. She never did.4. Finally I tried calling Bennett directly and he blocked my number. We ended up leaving and staying at the motel across the street.*They also claim to run a rafting company. STAY AWAY.

I thought I would be in this in California, found I have to cervical spine surgery and could not be there. Now they won't refund my money. Beware of cancellation policy before choosing this place. would not recommend to anyone.