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Traveling by car through the Central Valley over a hundred times during the past fifty years, I've never paused to ride a bicycle in Bakersfield. Mistake! The Kern River Parkway Trail is a way above average opportunity to take a break from the monotony of Highway 99 or I-5, get in a good ride, and get back in your car with the invigoration that a two-wheeled adventure virtually always brings.
I did the length of the trail in two parts. Daty 1, headed south to SoCal on 99, I parked at Yokuts Park (plenty of parking, easily accessible off 99) and rode east. The trail itself is wide, and smooth, well maintained, and without safety concerns. Specifically, though homelessness has been mentioned in previous posts about this path, no encampments encroached onto the path, and homeless folks numbered less than ten over the roughly sixtteen mile round trip. I got a bit confused at Manor St. : stay right, look for the narrow tunnel that goes under the street. The hills mentioned in the official description and previous posts are not steep, easily negotiable by even a mildly fit rider. I did not ride the streets to the disconnected far east portion of the trail, but will next time
On my return trip headed back home (Merced) on 99, I parked again at Yokuts Park, and headed west for a 28 mile round trip ride to the western end of the trail. What a delight! Again, the trail was wide, clean, traveling largely along water, safe, for all ages and levels of riders. Previous postings about tumble weeds....didn't see any. Again, no street crossings, as the path uses underpasses for all roads, a marvelous piece of engineering. If you're a birder, bring your binoculars, you'll be travelling along extensive wetlands. The trail drops about 400 feet in elevation over 14 miles, hardly noticeable going either downstream along the Kern, or upstream on the way back. My sense of public safety seemed to be confirmed by the many families that I encountered on foot or on bikes. The speedster bicyclists were polite, and the width of the path made it easy for the tortoises and the hares, the pedestirans and the dog walkers to get along.
This path is a beauty, an achievement of forward thinking and an excellent investment in the public good. It's easily accessible from either I-5 or Highway 99. If you're passing through Bakersfield, you'll be richly rewarded by pausing to try it out. I rode it in January (58 degrees), for summer riders, be well prepared for the heat, which can be lethal.
It’s a nice, paved trail but lots of homeless camped along it and have large dogs off leash. Also lots of garbage…Bakersfield needs to clean it up. Also never have seen such a squirrel infestation as their parks have
We have used this trail several times. We have not gone on the entire trail but we have ridden 35 miles. We prefer to go west on it as it is more scenic and there are not any homeless or sketchy areas. If you go east you will encounter many homeless people and the area doesn’t seem safest. We have not been bothered by the homeless, it is just a little uncomfortable seeing some using drugs, as we have a teenage daughter. Overall this trail is well kept. You can tell the city cares deeply about this trail. It’s in our top 10 in the country!
I’ve been riding this trail a couple times a week since I found it. With very few interruptions or vehicle crossings, this is a great trail for settling in and peddling away.
I started at the Foster Park trailhead. At least on a Wednesday afternoon there was plenty of parking under the bridge just before you get to the trailhead. I was on an ebike and it was an easy uphill cruise, with a gentle slope, all the way to Ojai. When reaching Ojai I would recommend turning around at Montgomery Street. Trail gets pretty junky for the few hundred yards after that. Few
I did this ride with my girls, 14 and 10 years of age, —very doable. The incline is slow and gradual so it’s easy to take in the beautiful scenery around. We enjoyed it.
I have been using it for the past three years almost every weekend. I enter the trail off of Mohawk being that I live near by. Going East the landscape is more varied in comparison to going west. Each side has its own type of beauty. The trail is mostly asphalt and very well maintained. I really like the fact that there is no place on the trail for cars to cross so you do not need to stop for traffic. You can ride non-stop the whole 22 miles.
Location: Bakersfield, CA
Parking: The Park at River Walk & Kern River Parkway park
Trail Condition: Excellent wide asphalt pathway. Well maintained.
Signage: No directional route signage. We did have to stop at one location and review our map. Otherwise route is mostly obvious. There is plenty of “rules” signage. Would be a nice improvement to provide directional route signage.
Comments: We rode this in two sections. First starting at the “Park at the River” and riding south to the trail end. This portion of the trail enters the open space/ground water banking area outside of town. The wide trail gets away from traffic and city noise. We spotted roadrunners, a coyote, and lots of other birds and animals along the trail. Every so far are some benches and at one time had some sort of emergency phone system but they are in the process of removing. A number of other cyclists were encountered on the trail, most offered a wave or friendly hi. Back in the urban part of the trail a number of walkers were also on the trail. Obviously a popular trail.
Section two started at Kern River Parkway park and traveled north. Trail remained mostly in good condition. Since this section goes through the main part of the city the scenery is as can be expected with housing, traffic, and shelters in the trees along the river bed. Once passed through the urban setting the trail is a little bit more “country” but isn’t nearly as long as the southern end of the trail. Plenty of folks out enjoying a sunny Saturday afternoon on the trail.
Highly recommend the southern portion of the trail.
I walk this path every day. There are two new sections, one at each end so it's much longer than the 1.4. I would like to know the distance myself. There are water fountains that include dog basins. It a nice pleasant walk. Many people bike and or run.
Way back in June of 1998, the Los Angeles Times had an article entitled "Joy Rides - 10 scenic bike trails for real people." Coming in at #8 was "The Milk Run." It was a 16 mile round trip through the Ojai Valley starting at Foster Park. Being the real people that we are, my wife and I rode it a year or two later during a vacation to Ventura.
Today that trail is known as the Ojai Valley Trail, and from the photos on the Rails to Trails site it looks just as beautiful as twenty years ago and appears to have had some nice upgrades added too.
I recall lots of trees, a rural atmosphere, a gentle incline, and being able to pretty much coast much of the way back to Foster Park!
(BTW: I've racked my brain and done some research, but I can't remember or find why it was referred to as The Milk Run)
This is a very well maintained bike trail. The western section is very rural for the last 8 or 10 miles - not terribly scenic but there are tons of rabbits, ground squirrels, roadrunners and hawks to entertain you. It is an easy, flat ride. We parked at Yokuts Park and rode west to the end. Next time, we'd like to ride the eastern end of the trail.
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