Lake Isabella, CA

Lake Isabella (Lake) lies between two sections of the Sequoia National Forest at an elevation of 2,578 feet. At 11,200 acres, it is one of the larger reservoirs in California with a length of 6.5 miles and a 38 mile shoreline. Upper Kern River flows into Isabella Lake, Lower Kern River flows out of the dam and toward Bakersfield. The nearby towns of Lake Isabella and Kernville receive economic benefit from tourism created by the Lake Isabella Recreation Area and the whitewater rafting attraction of the Upper and Lower Kern River. Water sports enthusiasts find calm water in secluded sections of the lake for water skiing and wakeboarding while anglers know one of the biggest largemouth bass ever caught came from Lake Isabella. Lake activities are the focal point of this year-round recreation mecca with boating, sailing, water skiing, jet-skiing, windsurfing, fishing, camping, hiking, snow skiing, motocross, and golf. Much of the wilderness surrounding the lake is part of the Sequoia National Forest.

Kernville, just to the north on Highway 178 beside the north fork of the Kern River, boasts a historic past as an 1850's gold rush camp. The town pays tribute to its rip-roaring past with its Whiskey Flats Days and the exhibits in the Kern Valley Museum.