What is Whiskey Flat Days? Whiskey Flat Days, February 14-17, 2025, is a family-friendly opportunity to step back in time to the good 'ol west, on the Kern River. Make plans to visit Kernville, CA for the 68th annual Rhinestones & Wranglers celebration!
Organized each year by the Kernville Chamber of Commerce, Whiskey Flat Day weekend pits neighbors against each other for the honorary title of Whiskey Flat Mayor, all to raise funds for their favorite charity. This 4-day weekend event boasts activities for everyone in your family, including a Parade, interactive Encampment, Rodeo, and a Carnival. Keep reading for more details on the 2025 annual Whiskey Flat Days event. Take a look back at some of the prior WFD themes and Mayors.
Our personal family favorite Whiskey Flat Days event is the Indian & Cowboy Encampment located across from the Rodeo Grounds. Re-enactors show what life looked and sounded like in the old west, or old Kernville, with staged shoot outs, cooking on Chuck Wagons, making leather crafts, sharing a nip of whisky (wink, wink), teaching kids how to make corn husk dolls, to drum in a drum circle, throw a tomahawk, archery, all kinds of fun and interactive learning experiences at the Encampment!
A crowd favorite since the 1950's, the Whiskey Flat Days parade is held on Saturday morning at 10:00am. Be sure to arrive about an hour before the Parade starts to stake out the best seats. There are about 60-75 parade entries from ponies, horses to old time cars and wagons, and occasionally the Wells Fargo team of Clydesdales.
Pro Tip: Find parking by 9:15am, before Kernville Road is closed during parade. Bring a blanket, chair or pad to sit on! Stuff a cushion or blanket into your backpack so you don't need to carry it around all day.
Older kids and littles love hanging out with their friends and family riding all the Carnival rides, over and over! Tickets available in advance at the Kernville Chamber or at Cheryl's Diner in Kernville.
The Wild West Days Rodeo is held on Saturday and Sunday at noon. Competitions include roping, bull riding, hide race, barrel race and more! Food and drinks are available for purchase inside the rodeo grounds. Rodeo tickets are available online.
Weekend Schedule
Come for all the family fun including the Parade, a Wild West Rodeo plus an Iron Horse Rodeo, contests throughout the long weekend, Golden Gulch art exhibits, musical entertainment, plus a Carnival area with lots of rides. See sample itineraries for each day of this exciting weekend:
Pack up your family, the RV, reserve your campsite and get here for a fun, active, step back in time to Whiskey Flat Days, on Presidents Weekend, February 14-17, 2025. Click here to read the full story of Whiskey Flat.
Keep Reading: How to Camp in the Winter
Care-for-It
Recreating responsibly includes packing trash bags to leave our wild spaces cleaner than you found them. There is a glass ban in the Sequoia National Forest, so remember to use plastic storage containers, ziploc bags, or bota bags for camping gear and kitchen supplies instead.
Micro-trash and cigarette butts are trash. Thank you for caring and picking up micro-trash and cigarette butts to leave outdoor spaces better than you found them.
Looking for more Kern River campground tips, tricks, and hidden gems?
We’d love to help! Our campground is located right on the edge of Kern River, and we know this majestic body of water inside and out. If you’d like to learn more about swimming, camping, or rafting the Kern River, check out our website or take a look at our additional resources.
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