Driving the Streets of Bakersfield
At the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, you’ll find country music, craft brews and genuine grub.
As you drive to Yosemite from Los Angeles or Las Vegas, you’ll enter Bakersfield, the ninth largest city in California. It’s a hub for oil production, agriculture and birthplace of the Bakersfield Sound, a twangy genre of country music that was influenced by rock and electrical instruments.
On the streets of Bakersfield you will find a brewery trail, seven restaurants included on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives show, an Indian food truck—Punjabi Dhaba—that was featured in The New York Times and a Mexican restaurant, Nuestro Mexico, hailed by Thrillist.com as having the best tacos in the country. There are also more Basque restaurants here than any other place in the country.
On the city’s selfie trail, check out the only shoe-shaped building in America with shoelaces. It’s 30 feet long and 20 feet tall. Bike or walk along more than 30 miles of the Kern River Parkway Trail, where you might see rabbits, roadrunners and other wildlife, all protected from development. Several hiking options are ready for you, like the Panorama Bluffs Walking Trail that overlooks the Kern River, or 370 acres of Hart Park, where you might even see wandering peacocks.
For a lively family-oriented show and meal, head to Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace. Country singer Owens helped popularize the Bakersfield Sound with his 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts during the 1960s. Peruse the museum on site that showcases Owens’ memorabilia. Tip: make advanced reservations.
Then stop by the California Living Museum (CALM) to see more than 250 native California animals, including mountain lions as well as endangered desert bighorn sheep and California condors, who can no longer live in the wild because they were orphaned or have physical disabilities. At Kern County Museum, explore Pioneer Village composed of 60-plus original historic buildings in a turn-of-the-20th-century village setting, plus country singer Merle Haggard’s restored childhood home. Check out the Bakersfield Museum Trail for details on these and other museums: www.visitbakersfield.com/blog/explore-the-bakersfield-museum-trail/
On your way out of town, stop at California Fruit Depot for amazingly fresh fruit, including navel and Valencia oranges, dates and nuts. Don’t miss out on the free samples and make sure to buy a date shake to-go.
For more information:
Visit Bakersfield
661-852-7282
www.visitbakersfield.com