Heading down to Death Valley in Mid Feb via Lake
Isabella, planning a stop somewhere between Bakersfield
and Ridgecrest.

On the trip down, Bakersfield is probably too close and
Ridgecrest a little too far.

Anybody have a stopover that they like in the general
area of Lake Isabella ?

Thanx

On Dec 13, 8:20�pm, Rob Kleinschmidt <Rkleinsch1216...@aol.com> wrote:

> Anybody have a stopover that they like in the general
> area of Lake Isabella ?

There's a beautiful campground at Ming Lake. It has nice shade trees
and mowed lawns. Cost is about $20 per night.

During the spring or summer, you could camp in the Kern River canyon,
between Ming Lake and Lake Isabella.

There are hot springs in several places along the river, but it would
be too
cold before April to camp in the canyon.

It's not recommended to camp by yourself in that part of the canyon,
though,
as the weirder denizens of Bakersfield tend to resemble something out
of "Deliverance".

There's a recently-remodeled resort at Democrat Hot Springs, but I've
never checked it out.

It's always windy in Lake Isabella, and it will be cold in February.

If you want a rustic motel, take a left at the Lake Isabella dam and
head for Kernville, a nice little town in the foothills.

There are campgrounds along the north fork of the Kern River, and it's
not as windy as the campgrounds around Lake Isabella.

Rob Kleinschmidt wrote:
> Heading down to Death Valley in Mid Feb via Lake
> Isabella, planning a stop somewhere between Bakersfield
> and Ridgecrest.
>
> On the trip down, Bakersfield is probably too close and
> Ridgecrest a little too far.
>
> Anybody have a stopover that they like in the general
> area of Lake Isabella ?
>
> Thanx

The pass between Lake Isabella and the desert is fairly high. There was
snow on the side of the road when I made the trip a couple of Aprils
ago. The road is beautiful - twisty two lanes - but if slippery will
test the limits of your riding skills and/or health insurance.

Should weather incline you to go via Tehachapi Pass, and if you like
good beef, break the trip at Coalinga and enjoy a steak dinner at Harris
Ranch.

Rich,
Urban Biker

On Dec 18, 1:30 pm, Rich <jaguar943-...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Rob Kleinschmidt wrote:
> > Heading down to Death Valley in Mid Feb via Lake
> > Isabella, planning a stop somewhere between Bakersfield
> > and Ridgecrest.
>
> > On the trip down, Bakersfield is probably too close and
> > Ridgecrest a little too far.
>
> > Anybody have a stopover that they like in the general
> > area of Lake Isabella ?
>
> > Thanx
>
> The pass between Lake Isabella and the desert is fairly high. There was
> snow on the side of the road when I made the trip a couple of Aprils
> ago. The road is beautiful - twisty two lanes - but if slippery will
> test the limits of your riding skills and/or health insurance.
>
> Should weather incline you to go via Tehachapi Pass, and if you like
> good beef, break the trip at Coalinga and enjoy a steak dinner at Harris
> Ranch.

There was snow in Walker Pass at the side of the road last year but
it was sunny and the pavement was pretty dry. 155 and 178 are both
great roads and I'd rather stay the hell away from the freeway.

Stopped right near the top at the Canebrake Cafe for breakfast
on the way back. The geriatric owner paddled around in his
wheelchair to fix me some slightly greasy eggs over easy and
then while I ate, regaled me with stories of his battles with
county health about his water supply. You can't find dining
experiences like that for love or money. :-)