DECEMBER FEATURED AIRSTRIP: KERN VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

An aerial view of a river surrounded by trees and mountains.

Each month we highlight an airstrip with hopes that you will get out and enjoy these special places. This month, we’re featuring Kern Valley, California.

Located about 100 nm from California’s most populous coastal area, Kern Valley Airport, L05 offers the scenic respite of a backcountry place. It is one of only three southern California airports that offer onsite camping. The shady camping area just west of the paved 3,500-ft runway and parking area has picnic tables, fire pits, and a restroom with a rustic shower for visitor convenience, which was funded with the help of an RAF grant. The Kern River — a wild and scenic river known for exceptional white water rafting — is a short walk from the camping area. It’s reported that the river is stocked with “hungry trout.”

Being in the shadow of the Sierras with peaks from 6,500 to over 10,000 foot elevations, the airport is limited to day use only. There is a cafe across the runway, typically open for breakfast and lunch. About two miles down river is Isabella Lake that offers shoreline camping.

For a more urban experience, the town of Kernville (population less than a thousand) is three miles north with places to eat and drink, stock up on groceries or get a hotel room. There are outfitters in town who can guide you into the Sierra backcountry. Some offer mountain biking and rafting shuttle services as well.

For more information on this great fly-in destination, see the Airfield Guide.

Find details on fuel and maintenance availability on the Kern Valley Airport website.

By Carmine Mowbray
Submitted November 27, 2024

ROB KEANE

February 24, 2026

FLORIDA AMBASADOR

HOWIE BOHL

February 24, 2026

CALIFORNIA AMBASSADOR

RAF AWARDS GRANT FOR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF HCRC

February 24, 2026

Oregon RAF Liaison Bill Ables has been awarded a $5,000 RAF grant to retain RAF membership in and support the Hells Canyon Recreation Collaborative (HCRC) for the next five years. The HCRC was organized in 2016 at the request of Idaho’s Congressional Delegation as a framework for the various recreational user groups to collaborate with the US Forest Service within the 652,488-acre Hells Canyon National Recreation Area. Ables, a past Director and current member of the group, explained that HCRC membership is a cross-section of user groups from both the private and commercial sectors, including river rafters and jet boaters, backpackers, horse packers, aviators, and governmental management agencies. Providing ongoing support ensures continued aviation representation. The rugged Snake River canyon region hugs the borders of northeastern Oregon and western Idaho, and includes nine backcountry airstrips within the Recreational Area. All are maintained by volunteer aviation groups in collaboration with the USFS: Cache Creek, Salmon Bar, Dug Bar, Temperance Creek, Pittsburg Landing, Sluice Creek, Lord Flat, Memaloose, and Big Bar. “Our support of HCRC, combined with the other involved aviation groups, ensures ongoing maintenance and improvements at each of these nine airstrips. It benefits general aviation by preserving access to enjoy the beauty of the Hells Canyon area, which directly speaks to the Mission of the RAF,” Ables said. For more information on Dug Bar, Cache Creek, Big Bar, and Memaloose, see the Airfield Guide . Pittsburg Landing, Sluice Creek, Temperance Creek, and Salmon Bar are not listed in the Airfield Guide at this time. Submitted February 24, 2026