My job brought me to Bakersfield, CA and I looked for some caches to find after work. I found the caches along the Breckenridge Road west of Bakersfield. Don’t make the same mistake as I did. Get here early to actually really enjoy this beautiful drive and the scenery and to have enough time to find all caches along this road. I started off at 4 pm, which was way too late and only got to Breckenridge Lookout before it got dark and I headed back to the hotel.
To access the road it’s best to take Highway 58 East and exit at Comanche Drive. Make a left turn and head up north until you see a sign which says Breckenridge Road with a left arrow. Don’t make a left turn here, make a right turn, and follow the road. The road is only partially opened during winter-time.
The road is paved but classified as a one-lane road. I also recommend driving a 4×4 up here. Depends on what ways you wanna go. In the beginning, the road has two lanes but it narrows down quickly to one lane and after a while to a very narrow one-lane road. There are turnouts and if another Pickup comes down, it’s normally no problem to pass. If you had towards Breckenridge Lookout, the road will become a very narrow one-lane dirt road. There is also a campground not too far from the lookout. You will pass it on your way there. To get to the lookout, watch for a sign, you will see it, but it’s way up in the mountains, just keep driving. After you passed the residential area, start looking for the sign.
If you out to find these caches, please pre-load the caches to your GPS or Smartphone and get offline maps. The only point where I got 4G internet connection again, was at Breckenridge Lookout. At least most of the time the radio head good reception with Jack FM (97.3). That made the drive a little more fun.
The view is really breathtaking, make sure you bring a camera along to have some pictures for your memories. Even if you are not a fan of geocaching you still can drive this road and enjoy the views.
Check the geocaching.com map for all the caches along the road. My first stop was at “Happy Easter 2013“, unfortunately, the next one was gone (Sunday Drive). The only one I was able to find was “Tiny Tunnel“. This one is near the Breckenridge Lookout Tower, you really should go there and go up the tower. When I got there, the tower was already closed and I realized how late it really was and that the sun was about to set. I decided to start heading back to the hotel because I didn’t want to drive down this road by night. Still had to drive a portion of it after sunset, but it was not to bad.
The drive up is really nice and gives you a lot of amazing views. I really enjoyed driving up there and definitely will try to complete the road. I will keep you updated…
At the Lookout Tower, I took a photosphere. Enjoy!
Peter has a passion for Traveling, Photography, and Geocaching. These are the best ingredients for amazing adventures all over the globe. “Traveling is fun, no matter if you stay in a luxury hotel or travel like a backpacker.” Peter shares his experiences on his Blog www.gatetoadventures.com
Some of Peter’s photos are published on corporate websites, in-flight magazines, travel guides, and much more.