Headquarters

The Headquarters campground was fine. Though the sites adjacent to ours were empty, it was very quiet, both during the day and at night. Our site was about 100 ft from the river, and the loudest sound at night was the river flowing and frogs croaking. The paved parking pad in our site was fine for our 2 cars, but would probably have been too small for a 3rd. The picnic table was a bit dirty and could have used fresh paint, but that's not a big deal. Our site had a bear box, which was clean and solid, though the latch was a bit difficult to open. We saw no evidence of bear activity around our site. The water from the water spigot was visibly dirty, more-so than the river, so I would not consider safe to drink. The restroom near our site was reasonably clean and and good condition.
Campground aside, I was less than satisfied with the recreation.gov website. It rejected my 11-years-old username & password, and creating a new account did not go smoothly. After finally getting a new account set up and making the reservation, the 2 emails I received before the trip had inaccurate information. The first said "This email is NOT your pass, permit, ticket, or entry document for your reservation. You’ll receive a separate confirmation email with important travel planning details as well as your pass, permit, ticket, or entry information." The 2nd was a "Reservation Reminder" and did not contain anything resembling an official pass/permit/ticket/etc. It also contained some inaccurate information, claiming that campfires were prohibited, which turned out to not be true. Not terrible, but some room for improvement.

Location feels tucked away while still being close enough to town to restock on supplies. Sites were sizeable with easy river access. Camp host was super friendly and helpful. Definitely coming back!

Location feels tucked away while still being close enough to town to restock on supplies. Sites were sizeable with easy river access. Camp host was super friendly and helpful. Definitely coming back!

I thought there would be a check in process prior to you being able to set up. In reality you just find your spot and then later on the camp host comes around later that night.very smooth process, just not any signs so we just had to guess a little.

I thought there would be a check in process prior to you being able to set up. In reality you just find your spot and then later on the camp host comes around later that night.very smooth process, just not any signs so we just had to guess a little.

Camp host was friendly, knowledgeable and reasonable. The site was excellent. We have stayed before. This time we stayed in a yurt, just for the fun novelty. It worked out well. Very good camp ground.

Site 11 is close to the toilet, and the odor and flies are noticeable. Not much screening vegetation between sites at this part of the campground. Road noise was also nearby. Host was very kind and gave me driving directions. Bird life in the campground was exceptional. Bear box was too hard for me to open- I am 69 and my hands didn't have the strength to pull the lever; seems like a bad design.

Camp host was friendly, knowledgeable and reasonable. The site was excellent. We have stayed before. This time we stayed in a yurt, just for the fun novelty. It worked out well. Very good camp ground.

Site 11 is close to the toilet, and the odor and flies are noticeable. Not much screening vegetation between sites at this part of the campground. Road noise was also nearby. Host was very kind and gave me driving directions. Bird life in the campground was exceptional. Bear box was too hard for me to open- I am 69 and my hands didn't have the strength to pull the lever; seems like a bad design.

Headquarters CG is an easy to find, close to town type of camping area, that sits on the beautiful Kern River.
You get to experience the sun setting behind the monstrous mountain and waking to the sun rising over a boulder-like hill.
Stargazing is fantastic, it's quiet and relaxing. I did not get the Host's name, but He was awesome.
We'll be back in the Summer.

-A