Kern County is located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 839,631. Its county seat is Bakersfield.Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county spans the southern end of the Central Valley. Covering 8,161.42 square miles (21,138.0 km2), it ranges west to the southern slope of the Coast Ranges, and east beyond the southern slope of the eastern Sierra Nevada into the Mojave Desert, at the city of Ridgecrest. Its northernmost city is Delano, and its southern reach extends just beyond Lebec to Grapevine, and the northern extremity of the parallel Antelope Valley. The county's economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction. There is also a strong aviation, space, and military presence, such as Edwards Air Force Base, the China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, and the Mojave Air and Space Port. The county is one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States in terms of population, but suffers from significant water supply issues and poor air quality.

Ojai ( OH-hy) is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is about 10 miles (16 km) long by 3 miles (5 km) wide and divided into a lower and an upper valley, each of similar size, surrounded by hills and mountains. The population was 7,461 at the 2010 census, down from 7,862 at the 2000 census. Ojai is a tourism destination known for its boutique hotels, recreation opportunities, hiking, and farmers' market of local organic agriculture. It has small businesses specializing in local and ecologically friendly art, design, and home improvement. Chain stores are prohibited by city ordinance to encourage local small business development and keep the town unique. The name Ojai is derived from the Mexican-era Rancho Ojai, which in turn took its name from the Ventureño Chumash word 'Awha'y, meaning "Moon". The city's self-styled nickname is "Shangri-La" referencing the natural environment of this health and spirituality-focused region as well as the mystical sanctuary of the 1937 film adaptation of James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon.

Visalia ( vy-SAYL-yə, vih-) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California, about 230 mi (370 km) southeast of San Francisco, 190 mi (310 km) north of Los Angeles, 36 mi (58 km) west of Sequoia National Park, and 43 mi (69 km) south of Fresno. The population was 134,605 as of a 2019 U.S. Census Bureau estimate. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley after Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, and Modesto, the 44th-most populous in California, and 202nd in the United States.As the county seat of Tulare County, Visalia serves as the economic and governmental center to one of the most productive agricultural counties in the country.Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks are located in the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains, the highest mountain range in the contiguous United States.

Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 156,633, and in 2019 the population was estimated at 157,601, making Lancaster the 33rd largest city in California. Lancaster is part of a twin city complex with its southern neighbor Palmdale, and together they are the principal cities within the Antelope Valley region.Lancaster is located approximately 70 miles (110 km) north (via I-5 and SR 14) of downtown Los Angeles, and is near the Kern County line. It is separated from the Los Angeles Basin by the San Gabriel Mountains to the south, and from Bakersfield and the San Joaquin Valley by the Tehachapi Mountains to the north. The population of Lancaster has grown from 37,000 at the time of its incorporation in 1977 to over 157,000 as of 2019.