Bakersfield

Bakersfield is a city in Kern County in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Bakersfield is famous for being the home of country music singers Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, and has the nickname "the country music capital of the West Coast."

Understand
Bakersfield is one of the fastest growing larger cities in the United States. Bakersfield has a population of approximately 323,000 and a metropolitan area of approximately a half million. Bakersfield is also the birthplace of Korn, one of the best selling and most popular heavy metal bands of the last 25 years. Bakersfield has also produced its share of American football players such as Joey Porter, Frank Gifford, and David Carr. Bakersfield is a very conservative, religious city compared to most of the state.

By plane

 * Mesa Airlines dba American Eagle: (Phoenix and Dallas-Ft Worth)
 * Skywest dba United Express: (Denver and San Francisco)

Meadows Field is also an international airport, although there are no international carriers. However, the airport is capable of handling international private planes, both arriving and departing.

Rental car facilities are available at the airport. Taxis, Uber and Lyft are available outside the terminal. There is no bus service to the airport.

The primary alternative for arrival by plane from more destinations, with multiple airlines is   south in Los Angeles. Airport Valet Express, and Chennai Express provides direct bus service between LAX and Bakersfield. Other nearby airports are Bob Hope Airport  south, in Burbank); and Fresno Yosemite International Airport   north, in Fresno), both of which are accessible by Greyhound and Flixbus. See By bus in the below for a list of bus companies, including airport shuttle companies connecting Bakersfield to LAX and other cities in the San Joaquin Valley and the Los Angeles Metropolitan area.

Private air service
Private aircraft that are traveling to Bakersfield can land either at Meadows Field, or (in South Bakersfield). In addition, there are a variety of other general aviation airports in the region. These include: Delano Municipal Airport, Kern Valley Airport, Lost Hills Airport, Minner Field (Shafter), Taft Airport, Tehachapi Municipal Airport, and Wasco Airport.

By train
Amtrak also serves Bakersfield, with a nice main terminal downtown. Bakersfield is the southern terminus of the San Joaquins route, which travels north through the Central Valley to either Sacramento or the Bay Area. Bakersfield is also served by a number of Amtrak Thruway bus routes, which connect San Joaquin passengers to many southern California cities, as well as Las Vegas, Nevada.



By bus
Many bus lines pass through Bakersfield.


 * Greyhound, runs service along the 99 corridor to Fresno, Los Angeles, and beyond, as well as 58 toward Las Vegas.
 * Flixbus, cheap service to Sacramento, Bay Area, and Los Angeles.
 * Amtrak, runs bus service to various destinations in Southern California.
 * Intercalifornias, Mexican bus company with service to Sacramento, Bay Area, and Tijuana.
 * Kern Transit, service from towns around Kern County, as well as Lancaster and Santa Clarita (with connections to Metrolink commuter rail to Los Angeles).
 * Tufesa, Mexican bus company.
 * Airport Valet Express, scheduled shuttle service from Bakersfield to LAX.

By car
Bakersfield is at the junction of California State Routes 99 and 58, about north of The Grapevine at the junction of CA-99 and Interstate 5 and about 115 miles north of Los Angeles

By car
Bakersfield is a car-based city with poor mass transit options, so driving your own car or renting one is probably wise. However, if you are intrepid and determined to save money, the city bus can be used.

By bus

 * Kern Transit also runs limited stop service through Greater Bakersfield on the way to neighboring towns in Kern County.
 * Kern Transit also runs limited stop service through Greater Bakersfield on the way to neighboring towns in Kern County.

By bike
Biking is not a typical mode of transit, but it can be done. However, most bike lanes are on arterial roads with multiple car lanes and high speed limits.

By foot
The downtown core of Bakersfield is very small and walkable, with shopping centers and parks.

Do
This city will never be a premier tourist destination, but there are things to do. Ethnic food and culture festivals - including Scottish, Indian, Basque, and Greek - occur in the spring and summer.



Buy
Large shopping centers and strip malls are abundant. Small, locally owned antique shops are found in the Downtown and Old Town areas.



Eat
There are numerous chain restaurants throughout the city and in its shopping centers, but there are also plenty of delicious local places to sample. Good Basque food is easy to find. Bakersfield has what is most likely the largest single cluster of Basque restaurants in California. --try Benji's, The Pyrenees or Woolgrowers. Italian food fans might enjoy Rosa's, Luigi's, or Uricchio's. There are several Thai restaurants that have opened in the last couple of years, while Japanese and Indian cuisines are popular as well.

Drink
Bakersfield's bar and club scene is primarily centered in the downtown area around the intersection of 19th St & Eye St, but most microbreweries are bit further out. There is a Brewery Trail with prizes after checking in at a few breweries.



Stay safe
Bakersfield is a relatively safe city with a murder rate that has been mostly on the decline since 2005. Most of the homicides happen within area code 93307. Property theft and drug activity have seen a sharp increase within the city and there are certain parts of the city that are dangerous even during the daytime. Dr. Martin Luther King Drive (formerly named Lakeview Ave, and turns into Cottonwood Rd), Union Ave, parts of East Bakersfield and areas surrounding the Kern County fairgrounds and South High School are plagued by gang violence and can be very dangerous. The Bakersfield suburb of Oildale (which shares its borders with Bakersfield at the Kern River) has a bad reputation for racism and poverty. However, attitudes towards minorities have improved significantly over the years in Oildale. Drug use and related crimes are still an issue.

Go next

 * Fort Tejon State Historic Park – A visit to the early days of European settlement is provided by Fort Tejon which dates back to 1854 and is easily accessed from I-5, lying between the shops of Grapevine and the hamlets of Lebec and Frazier Park.
 * Keene – Located east on Highway 58, Keene is home to the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, which contains the headquarters and grave site of the famous labor leader. Another attraction is the Tehachapi Loop, which is just outside of town and is a favorite of railroad fans around the world since the engineering wonder is one of the few places where a train can be seen passing over itself.
 * Kern River Canyon – A scenic drive via Highway 178 follows the lower Kern River.
 * Tehachapi – Further east on Highway 58, Tehachapi is home to a massive wind farm.
 * Wasco – Bakersfield's neighbor to the northwest is known as the city of roses, with 55% of all roses grown in the USA grown in and around Wasco. Its annual spring Rose Festival attracts visitors from all over southern California.
 * McFarland – North of Bakersfield on Highway 99, McFarland is a small farming community that may be best known for the high school cross-country team that inspired the 2015 movie McFarland, USA.
 * Buttonwillow – This town is west of Bakersfield on Highway 58, offers lodging options and services, and is home to the Buttonwillow Tree, a state landmark that gave the town its name.
 * Taft – An oil town southwest of Bakersfield that offers food, gas, and lodging services. Taft is also home to the West Kern Oil Museum and a replica of Sutter's fort that was built in 1940 as a Depression-era project.
 * Maricopa – This oil & agriculture town is southwest of Bakersfield and was the site of one of the largest oil spills in history when the Lakeview Gusher unleashed nine million barrels of oil onto the surrounding countryside.
 * The Grapevine – The Grapevine is a corridor along I-5 that is south of Bakersfield and is home to the outlets at Tejon and a slew of traveler-focused restaurants and hotels for the thousands of cars traveling on the interstate.
 * Lake Isabella – About an hour's drive east of town on Highway 178, the Kern River/Lake Isabella area is popular for fishing, kayaking, camping, and boating activities, and in winter there is downhill skiing at Alta Sierra-Shirley Meadows.
 * Los Angeles – The second biggest city in the United States is less than a two-hour drive south of Bakersfield on Highway 99 then Interstate 5. Take Amtrak, Greyhound or Flixbus to the City of Angels.