The Kern Canyon is popular for camping, hiking, and picnicking. There are developed campgrounds maintained by the US Forest Service along the North Fork of the Kern River. Campgrounds include Camp 3, Fairview, Goldledge, Headquarters, Hospital Flat, and Limestone. All of the campgrounds are open in the summer months while only a few remain open year-round. The Kern is well known for its danger, and is sometimes referred to as the "killer Kern". A sign at the mouth of Kern Canyon warns visitors: "Danger. Stay Out. Stay Alive" and tallies the deaths since 1968; as of May 26, 2021, the number of deaths listed is 317. Merle Haggard's song "Kern River" fictionally recounts such a tragedy. Haggard's last song, "Kern River Blues", was recorded two months prior to his death in 2016. Below the canyon the Kern River has a gradient of 0.3% until it reaches the Kern River Oil Field and begins to meander along flat land into and through the city of Bakersfield. Tubing is popular along this stretch. The Class II whitewater located in Kernville is used for the slalom event of the annual Kern River Festival. In popular culture Songs Kern River - 1985 song written by American country music singer Merle Haggard. Kern River - 2022 song written by American Comedian and Songwriter Tim Heidecker in his album High School (2022). Kern River Blues - Also written by Merle Haggard, this was his last recording. Art projects Flow - This joint art installation project was envisioned by Andres Amador, a Northern California artist and Bring Back the Kern on February 11, 2021. "Flow" used plant material collected by volunteers and then arranged in the dry riverbed near Beach Park to evoke the currents and eddies of a flowing river. According to the group, Bring Back the Kern, "the design seeks to highlight the irony of the riverbed being dry and raise the question of "why?" A River Remembered - Miguel Rodriguez, a team member with Bring Back the Kern collecting photos, videos and stories of the once flowing river for an art exhibit. The Mighty Kern River - This 2021 children's book was written by Author Teresa Adamo and illustrator Jen Williams-Cordova "to raise awareness about Bakersfield’s mostly dry river and efforts to revive a more regular flow of water through town." See also Indigenous peoples of California Tübatulabal (the Pahkanapil) of the Central Valley