Remington Ridge Road

So, I realize it's been a while... that's because it is WINTER and I've been hiking the same three or four accessible trails all winter long. Arg. Come on, Summer.

Remington Ridge Road Trailhead lies further up Old Kern Canyon Road from the Mill Creek Trail. It has the same oak and scrubbrush landscape, with even more giant rock formations for climbing or hopping or (in the case of freinds goofing off a couple weeks ago) Yoga Demonstrations.

This trail is steep for the first mile or two and fairly steep after that. Requires the occasional stop to catch your breath. Mainly the trail climbs straight up and across the face of the ridge so that you can even see down to the freeway in the distance on occasion. After this it levels out for a while and head straight back in toward the South. This trail eventually climbs Lightner Peak and, I'm assuming, winds back through and up several smaller mountains on the way to the peak. I usually take about two hours to do a loop: climbing the trail to where it levels out and hike a little further back in past where the corral is, and back down the the bottom.

This trail is PERFECT for training to make longer climbs and really getting an awesome workout, especially if you don't have long.

Fun Facts:

Directions: head out of Bakersfield on the 178 through the canyon. Once the road widens out into a four-lane highway, drive a few more minutes and make a right on Borel Road. Make one more right onto Kern River Canyon Road. The trailhead will be on your left not too far up the road. Or you can take the earlier turnoff from 178 for Kern River Canyon Road. Follow this windy road a few mintues until you reach the Mill Creek Trailhead, located on the right. Keep going several miles to the Remington Ridge Road Trailhead. The second option tends to take long, in my opinion, but is more scenic. This takes about 45 minutes to an hour to get to from Bakersfield.

Hike Time: 2-6??? hours loop. Make it as long as you want.
Water: none. Bring your own.

Note of Caution: Last winter I did see cougar and bear tracks crossing the trail further back in. This was in dead winter - mid December - and I'm sure nobody had been anywhere near that spot in days, if not a couple weeks. During the summer you should be fine.

This spring I will be climbing Lightner Peak so look for an upcoming post!