A dark green Toyota pickup with a roof tent parked in tall dry grass as mist closes in.

Forest Service campground

Live Oak South

Forest Service campground in Sequoia National Forest, Kern County, California. 2,673 feet.

Managed by
Forest Service Sequoia National Forest
Elevation
2,673 ft USGS elevation model, at the mapped point
Sites
90 90 tent only non-electric
Longest rig
10 ft The longest vehicle any site is listed for
Hookups
None listed
Reservations
Recreation.gov
County
Kern County

Overview

Reservations not being accepted. Live Oak South Campground is located across the road from Lake Isabella, a popular destination for boating, windsurfing, fishing and swimming. Lake Isabella sits within Sequoia National Forest, just 6 miles from the town of Lake Isabella.

Recreation

Water activities at Lake Isabella are popular and include swimming, water skiing, windsurfing and fishing. The lake is known for its trout fishing during the colder months. Other species include black and white crappie, bluegill, catfish and largemouth bass.

Facilities

The campground offers sites for tent camping only. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and campfire ring. Flush toilets, showers and drinking water are provided.

Natural Features

The campground is situated in a grove of scenic oak trees at an approximate elevation of 2,500 feet.

Lake Isabella sits at the southern end of the Sierra Nevada range. The 11,000-acre lake marks the division between the Upper Kern River and the Lower Kern River.

Sequoia National Forest is named for the giant sequoia, the world's largest tree, which grows in more than 30 groves on the forest's lower slopes. The forest comprises about 1.1 million acres. Elevations range from 1,000 to 12,000 feet, creating precipitous canyons and mountain streams with spectacular waterfalls such as Salmon Creek Falls and Grizzly Falls.

Nearby Attractions

Live Oak South provides a good base for day trips to Sequoia National Park. The Trail of a Hundred Giants and numerous sequoia groves can be found nearby within Giant Sequoia National Monument.

The Giant Sequoia Mercantile is just 5 miles away in Kernville, and offers a wide variety of books, maps, gifts and camping equipment.

The description, directions and fees are the Forest Service’s own words, from its record on Recreation.gov.

What people do here

  • camping

The land around Live Oak South

The ringed pin is this campground; the others are its nearest neighbours. Switch on forest roads or BLM routes to see the way in.

Interactive map. Drag to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom, and select any point to see which agency manages the land. Arrow keys pan and the plus and minus keys zoom when the map has focus. A list of every state with its share of federal land is on the Explore page.

Map layers

Layers
Base map
Legend

Federal land, by managing agency

  • Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
  • US Forest Service (USFS)
  • National Park Service (NPS)
  • US Fish and Wildlife (USFW)
  • Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)
  • Department Of Defense (DOD)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
  • Other Federal
  • State
  • Local
  • Alaska Native Lands (Patented or Interim Conveyed)
  • Alaska Native Allotment

Federal campgrounds, by agency

  • Forest Service
  • Bureau of Land Management
  • National Park Service
  • Army Corps of Engineers
  • Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife and others

State and local land (USGS PAD-US)

  • State land
  • County and city land
  • Regional agency or district
  • Land trust or conservancy

Gaps with no tint inside public land are private parcels, often old mining claims and homesteads. They are not open to the public.

Dashed clay lines on the base map are unpaved tracks from OpenStreetMap. They show what exists on the ground, not what is legal to drive.

Select any point to see who manages the land.

Boundaries are approximate and land status changes. This map is a planning aid, not a survey or a statement of access. Confirm routes, closures and camping rules with the managing office.

Source: Recreation Information Database (Recreation.gov), record updated February 25, 2026. Elevation from the USGS 3D Elevation Program. Seasons, fees, water and fire rules change; the managing office has the final word.