We come here about every other month. They’re a small art museum but they often have really interesting LA artists featured. There’s an adjoining sculpture garden and park. They put on the annual chalk art festival in October which, on its own, is worth a trip to Bakersfield.
This is just around the corner from Richard’s office so he’s come here a lot. You can watch a movie in a recliner and order food and drinks while you watch. It’s shamelessly decadent.
A friendly local game store with board games, painting supplies and Warhammer models
If you only check out one park while you’re here, try this one. It’s uniquely Bakersfield — on the bluffs in the north of town with a breathtaking view of the objectively ugly oil-fields below. You can take a fun and mildly-challenging hike down the bluffs (the hard part is scrambling back up) to an extensive set of walking trails by the water below. There’s an adjoining preserve down there with beautiful shaded trails that feel like you’re in Indiana. This place is beautiful in an extremely Californian way at sunset.
This is an ethical zoo for local native species. They rehabilitate injured animals and take care of those who can’t rejoin the wild. We’ve seen kestrels, kit-foxes, bears and a shockingly large eagle here. They also do an amazing display of Christmas lights every year.
This is the most scenic place in Bakersfield for a long walk. There’s rarely an actual river in the riverbed, but there’s a long walking trail, a playground for kids, (a refinery across the way) and lots of little pools with various insolent ornamental birds. We’ve seen herons, quails, snakes and road-runners here! Take a left on the walking trail if you want better birding, take a right and you’re surrounded by a bunch of decent restaurants.
This is where we got engaged! It’s a bit of a drive from Bakersfield but It’s very pretty and It’s blissfully quiet. You can see the city down below and you’re surrounded by grassy, rolling hills. There are several hiking trails — you can go up to a summit with a terrific view or take a long leisurely walk through low hills that look like they should be in Costa Rica. Great for birding/herping.
We came here for our first date. They have fancy cocktails and high-end Asian noodle dishes.
Bakersfield has wonderful Basque food! This is the restaurant where we came to celebrate after getting engaged. Benji’s (and most of the other Basque spots in town) serves big family-style meals.
A great spot for a big hearty brunch. If you want a chicken-fried steak this is the best one in town. Their downtown location is great too.
This is one of our regular spots. It’s a dog-friendly burger place with awesome cocktails and it’s within easy walking range of Riverwalk Park.
Gourmet takes on simple American dishes, in a diner-style setting with good drinks and superb ice cream.
A family-owned ice cream and candy shop that has been in Bakersfield for over a century. They are famous for their ice cream and for their taffy chews.
One of many excellent BBQ joints in town (you can't really go wrong). Good daily specials.