Bakersfield, CA Summary

photo by gusto

Bakersfield has a population of 206,000. It is in south-central California, about halfway between Las Vegas, Nevada, and San Luis Obispo, on the Pacific coast. It marks the southern end of the vast San Joaquin River Valley, better known in the wine and other agricultural businesses as the Central Valley. Much of the state’s bulk wine is produced nearby—the climate is too hot to produce grapes for premium wine.

Arid flatlands, marked by a vast network of highways, combined with baking heat in the summer months keep tourist traffic to a minimum, though a drive east along Hwy 178 takes visitors to the Kern River and some gently rolling hills for hiking, camping, and fishing. The 969-acre Tule Elk State Reserve on Stockdale Hwy is home to a small herd of native elk.

Originally inhabited by Native Americans, the area was settled by goldminers in the mid-nineteenth century. Colonel Thomas Baker, a pioneer from Iowa, settled the area, and Baker’s field, which he had planted with alfalfa, became known to travelers as the place to stop to feed their animals. The name stuck when, in 1869, Baker was appointed to survey a formal township. The railroad, a vast irrigation system, another gold rush, and, in 1899, the discovery of oil, brought notoriety and new life to the sleepy town. Bakersfield remains an important trading center, especially for agricultural products such as fruits, nuts, and grains, and for refined petroleum.

Popular attractions include the Bakersfield Museum of Art and the California Living Museum, which is complete with its own zoo, botanical garden, and a natural history museum. The Kern County Museum has 60 restored and representational buildings, including a log cabin, a Queen Anne style mansion, and an 1898 locomotive. Stock and sprint cars race at Bakersfield Speedway, and the Mesa Marin Raceway offers high-speed stock cars and NASCAR racing. Downtown, there are two huge, and very popular, antiques malls.

Bakersfield is a relatively short trip from Los Angeles (112 miles) and San Francisco (288 miles), and has its own tiny airport. Buses and trains also service the area.