Country roots and weekend escapes in Bakersfield
Curious about what you'll do when you live in Bakersfield? If you like the idea of exploring the outdoor trails, getting artsy at local galleries, and are daring enough to try diving into live music, Bakersfield is calling you home (just bring sunscreen and realistic expectations). This list of fun things to do will take you from honky tonks to hiking peaks and give you a real slice of Bakersfield's vibrant cultural scene.
Amanda, Our Local Expert Guiding Your Move
Amanda is a Central Valley local. She’s lived in California basically her entire life, bouncing around apartments, houses, and in-between places often enough to lose count, and picking up a deep appreciation for moves that trade chaos for breathing room. Her favorite part of California isn’t the hype—it’s the yards, the quiet stretches of farmland, and the feeling that the horizon doesn’t end just because the city does. She’s all-in on Basque food (Woolgrowers forever), loves wandering farm roads just to see where they lead, and has worked just about every kind of job you can imagine along the way, from warehouses to writing. At Snappy Scout, Amanda brings grounded, real-California perspective to the table—less postcard fantasy, more lived-in truth for people who want to know what life in the Central Valley is actually like.
Read moreWritten with local insight from Snappy Scout relocation experts
What Will You Do in Bakersfield?
From weekend adventures to iconic road trips, here's how locals spend their time off.
on a Saturday with perfect weather
Hart Park for that rare day it's not scorching when everyone suddenly pretends they love the outdoors
when the gals come to town for the weekend
Wine tasting in nearby Paso Robles, obviously because locals love escaping town as much as visitors do
dude hangout
Catch the Condors game and pretend you know hockey while cheering for fights mostly
rainy dreary day
Bakersfield Museum of Art while dodging actual weather for once
artsy
Fox Theater for shows that prove culture exists here
outdoorsy
Kern River trails before the summer heat murders you and the mosquitos notice you
family oriented
California Living Museum with actual native animals, not just tumbleweeds
you have to see this
Buck Owens Crystal Palace, the country music shrine itself
on a budget
Taco crawl down Union Avenue like a true local
for sports fans
Rabobank Arena cheering loudly for minor league everything
after 2am
24 hour taco trucks saving lives one carne asada at a time
for a nearby weekend getaway
Sequoia National Park is shockingly close for giant tree therapy
My Favorite Local Spot in Bakersfield
Look, I’ll die on this hill. Woolgrowers Basque Restaurant on 19th Street, family-style, and I always go full send with the oxtail soup and those bottomless bowls of beans and salsa. The whole place smells like garlic, bread, and someone’s grandma cooking for twenty people, and it’s loud in that happy “everyone’s talking at once” way. Tiny warning though. Go hungry and go early, because once it fills up, you’re waiting like it’s Thanksgiving dinner.
— Amanda Ryan
Central Valley CA Expert
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