The Little Kern begins at Bullfrog Lakes, in the Golden Trout Wilderness south of Farewell Gap near Mineral King. It flows south, past Table Meadow and Burnt Corral Meadows, then enters a deep gorge before it joins with the Kern River at Forks of the Kern. The Little Kern roughly defines the southwest boundary of the Great Western Divide; the confluence with the main Kern (which flows to the east of the range) marks the southernmost tip of the range. Forks of the Kern is located about upstream of Lake Isabella.