This is our review of A Country RV Park, which is situated south-east of Bakersfield, 200 miles north of Palm Desert. We spent two weeks at this RV park in December. We are posting this review so that you can decide for yourself whether the pros outweigh the cons at this RV park. We are publishing similar reviews for all the parks we visit. We also invite readers to submit their own reviews. Share your knowledge and help us to create a large collection of in-depth reviews to help others in the RV life! Please contact Maggie for more details.
You can see some video footage of A Country RV Park, and some of the local attractions, in our video below. The part about A Country RV Park starts at minute 11:44.
Map Showing Location of A Country RV Park
You can switch this map from Map view to Satellite view, and also zoom in and out.
Sites at the A Country RV Park
There are 120 sites, all with 30- or 50-amp service. All sites have full hook-ups and cable too – great cable! Most of the sites are very large.
The sites are level and paved. There is a little sandy side park or grassy area for each site. There were no fire rings, but there was a bench that converts to a small picnic table. All sites are pull-through, except for 18 sites on the perimeter.
The park is sparsely treed, situated just off Cal 58. The configuration is roomy but with little privacy between the sites due to the lack of trees.
The water pressure is very weak. Also, the water in Bakersfield is highly chlorinated. We found it completely undrinkable, and had to buy bottled water.
The park attracts many very large units, mostly Class As. This is partly because the pull-through sites are very wide, making it easy to bring in a huge rig for an over-night. Some people even did this without unhitching, so they arrived late in the day and were gone early in the morning.
On a couple of occasions this was really annoying, when Class A owners started idling their vehicles at the crack of dawn. One morning both our neighbors left early in their Class As, one earlier and one later, so that the idling of diesel right next to us went on for two solid hours. We kept our windows closed and gritted our teeth. I have read that some Class As require up to six minutes of idling to build air pressure in the braking system. I really don’t understand why some people idle for as much as an hour, though. It seems incredibly rude, especially as diesel engines are so loud.
Location and Local Attractions at the A Country RV Park
The Park is located close to Cal 58, but we were not bothered by traffic noise day or night. There are food stores and other stores in the area, but nothing within walking distance. There is a Walmart community market within a five-minute drive.
The park is on the outskirts of Bakersfield, so the surrounding neighborhood was a combination of rural and marginal. Think grapevines, roosters, and the occasional horse whinny, plus fenced yards with aggressive pit bulls. We tried to take a walk in the neighborhood once, and had to almost run back as a pit bull leapt over a fence to come and investigate our small dogs. Joe had to yell at him repeatedly to keep him at bay. It was frightening. Given our had experience with dogs at the Merced RV Resort we took no chances and did not try to walk in the area again.
Perhaps as a result of being in a marginal area, the park’s gate is closed at night. You need to get an access code from the office if you will be returning to the park after 7 at night.
Oddly, there are stray dogs in Bakersfield! We saw three one day, finding their way through traffic. Clearly, they knew how to navigate cars so as to stay alive.
What we saw of Bakersfield was not particularly attractive. Agriculture and oil are the prevailing industries, so there is a slight smell of manure in the air, combined with the smog that blows in from the coast. The locals call it fog.
We visited the Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace, which is a sort of music hall/museum/restaurant decorated in the Western Revival style (think of a film set for a Western movie set in the 19th century). We enjoyed the experience and the Christmas music jam, even though the food was expensive but of mediocre quality.
We also went to the Holiday Lights at the CALM (California Living Museum). The lights were spectacular, and there was even a miniature train ride. Be sure to catch this if you are in the area during the Christmas season.
Pet Policy at A Country RV Park
The park allows any type of pets, with the usual leash rules. There is a small, fenced dog park.
Bike Trails and Hiking at the A Country RV Park
There are no safe cycling lanes; this is a city full of highways. The Kern River Parkway Trail is a multi-use trail which is 20 miles in length, off road, running along what was once the Kern River. It is a very level and wide trail for walkers, runners, cyclists, and skateboarders. We were sad to see that the Kern River is now just a dry riverbed. We assumed it had dried up due to the prolonged California drought. However, a friendly local advised us that the Kern River was diverted to serve the water needs of Los Angeles. It was very sad to think that this city once had a vibrant river running through the heart of Bakersfield; now the river bed is a dusty, rocky pit.
Public Transport near the A Country RV Park
There is no local transit in the area, but there is transit in Bakersfield.
Accessibility and Availability
The drive south from Merced via CA 99 and then east on CA 58 was for the most part multi-laned and relatively straight; however, there were numerous areas where the pavement was very rough, forcing us to slow right down to avoid damage to our Fifth Wheel. In particular, the last six miles on CA 58 were spectacularly rough. The Park was easily accessed from the highway.
General Atmosphere at the A Country RV Park
We stayed at this park during December, so it was cold at night, but we had sunny days with temperatures around 60 degrees in the day time (15 degrees Celsius), getting progressively colder each day.
The Park was almost full each day, with a combination of short stays and full-timers. We found everyone to be respectful and friendly, with no party animals even on the weekends. There was one major exception – a man who occasionally roared through the park on his motorbike, while blaring out music. I guess he was just too intimidating for anyone to tell him that his behavior was incredibly rude.
There were quite a lot of people staying there full-time. Most were friendly, and one women organizes a monthly potluck to build community.
Unusually, there was plenty of parking along one wall of the RV park, which happened to be opposite where our rig was (Site 103). This turned out to be very handy, as we did not have to squish our truck into the space in front of our rig. Unlike most RV parks, the management did not seem to care if you used a parking you had not paid for. Possibly because there was enough parking to park about 400 trucks.
Also, we were happily surprised to find orange trees and lemon trees growing in the parking area, with plenty of fresh fruit to pick.
Noise Level at the A Country RV Park
The park was very quiet the week we were there. We did not notice any traffic noise, particularly at night.
Staff at the A Country RV Park
The Park is well organized, with an office staffed 9:00 – 6:0 daily. We were given a comprehensive brochure on check-in, which included a map of the park, a map of the general area, mechanics in the area, etc.
The brochure advertises three local RV mechanics, and two of them are mobile, so this is a great park to stay in if you need to have some repairs done.
Value for Money at A Country RV Park
The price is reasonable, $230 a week for sites with full hookups and cable.
Wi-Fi at the A Country RV Park
We did not use the free Wi-Fi because it was very weak even in the park clubhouse.
While we were staying at A Country RV Park, we were forced to go out and buy a Verizon Jetpack to access Wi-Fi. We have a post about how to access Wi-Fi in RV parks here. Although it is aimed mainly at snowbirds, this post has many very useful tips for anyone struggling to get Wi-Fi in RV parks.
Cable TV at the A Country RV Park
There was cable TV and we got 73 channels! We binge watched several shows during our stay. The cable was actually the best we have had at any RV park so far.
Cellular Reception at the A Country RV Park
Cellular coverage was good for both Joe’s AT&T and my Verizon service.
Washrooms at the A Country RV Park
The washrooms were very clean, if a little dated, with good water pressure in the showers. There was no shortage of hot water. The showers are minimalist, and it is very challenging to find a place to put your toiletries. It is also impossible to keep your clothes dry, unless you put them on a chair outside the shower stall.
The washrooms close to the pool are very lightly used, perhaps because they are tucked away behind the office, so most people don’t know they are there.
Facilities at the A Country RV Park
There is an office, and a clubhouse with a small lounge and a small gym. There are maps and brochures about the local area. There are spacious laundry facilities on site. There is also a pool and a hot tub. However, the pool was unusable because it was not heated.
We did try the hot tub one evening, and really regretted it. That was because it was so highly chlorinated that it ruined my favorite bathing suit. That explained why the hot tub was permanently empty.
There is a fenced dog park and a couple of open grassy areas – one of them set up as a picnic area. The picnic area has a few benches, some grass, and a children’s play area. There was a barbecue, but it was locked, possibly because of the fire season.
The office accepts mail and deliveries on behalf of the campers, so we made use of our time to get a lot of small supplies delivered by Amazon.
The brochure advises that there is a market only a ¼ mile away, so we attempted to walk there with the dogs one day. We did not try it, though. As mentioned above, be careful of trying to walk there, due to the aggressive neighboring dogs.
Guest Parking at the A Country RV Park
There is a small guest parking area.
Bottom Line on the A Country RV Park
The park was quiet, with adequate sites. The only negatives were the lack of privacy between the sites. However, this is more than offset by the reasonable prices, and close proximity to the highway. We might stay here again, but only for a night or two to break a long journey. There were not enough attractions in the area to justify a longer stay. However, if you want a cheap place to stay, with good cable but no usable Wi-Fi, this park might work for you.
Weigh up these pros and cons, and decide if this is the RV Park for you!
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