About an hour's drive east of town on Highway 178, the Kern River/Lake Isabella area is popular for fishing, kayaking, camping, and boating activities, and in winter there is downhill skiing at Alta Sierra-Shirley Meadows.
Drive about an hour east on Highway 58 to see Tehachapi and its large wind farm, or the historic railroad loop near Keene.
Wasco, just north of Bakersfield, hosts an annual spring Rose Festival that attracts visitors from all over southern California.
Los Angeles the second biggest city in the United States is less than a two hour drive south of Bakersfield on Highway 99 then Interstate 5.
Pismo Beach is about 143 miles from Bakersfield.
