VA national cemetery
Bakersfield National Cemetery
Arvin, California
Location
30338 E Bear Mountain Boulevard
Arvin, CA 93203
Visiting
- Address
- 30338 E Bear Mountain Boulevard, Arvin, CA 93203
- Phone
- 661-867-2250
- Visiting hours
- Open daily from sunrise to sunset.
- Office hours
- Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed federal holidays.
- Time zone
- Pacific Time
- Burial space
- Open
- Accessibility
- Not yet verified
- Official page
- cem.va.gov
Flowers and grounds policy, from the VA
Fresh cut flowers can be placed on gravesites year-round. Once the flowers become unsightly, we will remove them. In addition, to facilitate a thorough cleaning of the burial sections, we will remove and dispose of all items placed on gravesites on the first and third Tuesday of each month (exception winter holiday season). Temporary plastic flower vases are available in the designated bins.
Artificial flowers and potted plants are allowed only on graves for a period extending five days before through five days after Easter Sunday and Memorial Day.
Seasonal Holiday Adornments for Christmas and Hanukkah, etc., such as wreaths, poinsettias, and small floral grave blankets, may be placed on graves from the third Saturday in December (National Wreaths Across America Day) through the third Monday in January (Martin Luther King Jr. Day). Arrangements cannot be more than 24" high or long.
To preserve the dignity of the cemetery, balloons, pinwheels, lights, candles, statues, stuffed animals, breakable items, etc. are not permitted. Bakersfield National Cemetery assumes no responsibility for items left on gravesites.
No item or object may be attached to the headstone or niche cover. Headstones and niche covers are federal property, altering or marking by paint, marker, lipstick or any other means is prohibited.
Bakersfield National Cemetery assumes no responsibility for items left on gravesites. Due to the open nature of the grounds, we cannot guarantee against theft, vandalism or the effects of nature.
We thank you in advance for providing the respect our Veterans are due, by observing the above listed regulations. Our Nation's heroes, some of whom gave their lives for this country, deserve no less than an honorable and pristine landscape to make their final rest.
Weapons Policy
VA regulations 38 CFR 1.218 prohibit the carrying of firearms (either openly or concealed), explosives or other dangerous or deadly weapons while on VA property, except for official purposes, such as military funeral honors.
Possession of firearms on any property under the charge and control of VA is prohibited. Offenders may be subject to a fine, removal from the premises, or arrest.
General information, from the VA
The 500-acre national cemetery near Bakersfield, CA will serve veterans' needs well into the next century. It is about 25 miles east of SR 99 near Arvin along SR 223 in Kern County.
Bakersfield National Cemetery is surrounded by the rolling hills of the Tejon mountain range, home to diverse wildlife, including cattle, wild pigs, bobcats, rattlesnakes, squirrels, and rabbits. All visitors should be aware of their surroundings and should avoid interaction with the wildlife while on the cemetery grounds.
Military Funeral Honors:
Each veteran interred at Bakersfield National Cemetery is authorized a military funeral honors detail consisting of at least three uniformed personnel from the veteran's branch of service to fold and present the flag and play "Taps", upon request of the family or funeral home.
Your local funeral director can assist you with arranging for these honors. If you are not utilizing a funeral home, please wait until after you have scheduled with the National Cemetery Scheduling Office and you have a date and time for burial to request military honors from the Branch of Service of the veteran.
Military Funeral Honors contacts:
U.S. Air Force: 951-655-6105
U.S. Army: 916-854-3821
U.S. Coast Guard: 310-521-6106
U.S. Marine Corps: 866-826-3628
U.S. Navy: 800-326-9631
Kern County Associated Veterans: 661-868-7300
Directions from Nearest Airport
From the local airport - Meadows Field: Take CA-99 south towards Bakersfield/Los Angeles. Take Exit 24, on right, onto CA-58 east towards Tehachapi/Mojave. Travel 22.6 miles on CA-58 E then make a right onto CA-223/East Bear Mountain Blvd. towards Arvin. Bakersfield National Cemetery will be on the right after approximately 1/2 a mile.
From the East (Palmdale/Lancaster Areas): Take CA-58 west towards Bakersfield. Turn left onto CA-223/East Bear Mountain Boulevard going toward Arvin. Bakersfield National Cemetery will be on the right after approximately ½ mile.
From the South (Los Angeles Area): Take CA-99 north towards Bakersfield/Fresno. Take Exit 13, making a right onto CA-223/East Bear Mountain Boulevard East towards Arvin. Drive approximately 21 miles (passing through Arvin). Bakersfield National Cemetery will be on your left.
From the North (Fresno Area): Take CA-99 south towards Bakersfield/Los Angeles. Take Exit 24, on right, onto CA-58 east towards Tehachapi/Mojave. Travel 22.6 miles on CA-58 E then make a right onto CA-223/East Bear Mountain Blvd towards Arvin. Bakersfield National Cemetery will be on the right after approximately 1/2 mile.
Pay your respects
Visitors to veterans’ graves sometimes leave a coin on the headstone to show that someone came. You can leave a symbolic coin here. No money is involved, and nothing about you is published. About the custom, and what each coin is said to mean.
History
Reproduced from the VA National Cemetery Administration’s page for this cemetery, retrieved November 11, 2026. This is the VA’s text, unedited; it is not independent research by this site.
Set in a beautiful, natural landscape, Bakersfield National Cemetery in the White Wolf area of the Tehachapi Mountains is nestled amidst wide-open stretches, mountain vistas and rolling grazing land where both cattle and camels once roamed. Dating to the days of the land grants when California was still part of Mexico, the land has hosted vaqueros and cowboys, as well as the short-lived U.S. Army Camel Corps that was based in nearby Fort Tejon from 1857 to 1863.
The cemetery land was originally part of a Mexican grant that dates to November 24, 1843, when Mexican Governor Manuel Micheltorena gave the land to the original owners, Jose Antonio Aguirre and Ignacio del Valle. They called the property Rancho el Tejon.
In the 1850s and 1860s, General Edward Fitzgerald Beale, hero of the Battle of San Pasqual and former superintendent of Indian affairs and surveyor-general of California, purchased Rancho el Tejon and three other land grants and assembled them into what he called the Ranchos el Tejon, now known simply as Tejon Ranch. Rancho el Tejon was the largest of the four land grants. The White Wolf area, where the cemetery is located, was historically used for grazing and that practice continues today. It was so named because of the packs of white wolves that roamed the area. The vaqueros reported seeing them as late as 1875.
Through the National Cemetery Expansion Act of 2003, Congress authorized the addition of six new national cemeteries, including one in the Bakersfield area. The Tejon Ranch Company, which owns the largest contiguous tract of private property in California—between Los Angeles and Bakersfield—quickly offered to donate land for use as a cemetery. It offered a choice of several locations in the White Wolf area and the National Cemetery Administration chose the 500-acre site located just south of Highway 58 and west of Highway 223. The cemetery is surrounded by the 422-square-mile Tejon Ranch.
The final transfer of land took place in 2008. The first interment of cremated remains occurred on July 1, 2009, and the first casketed interment the following day.
Notable burials and memorials
Reproduced from the VA’s page for this cemetery, retrieved November 11, 2026, including Medal of Honor recipients where the VA lists them. Links lead to the VA’s own records. To correct an entry, contact the VA; to tell us our copy is out of date, report it.
Charles L. Napier, a veteran character actor of both TV and film, his granite jaw and toothy grin often earned him roles as tough-guys and heavies. By the time Napier found his niche, he had been a high school art teacher, parking lot attendant, typist and truck driver. Born April 12, 1936, in Mount Union, KY, he served in the Army before earning a bachelor's degree in art in 1961 from what is now Western Kentucky University. He died at the age of 75 and was interred at the Bakersfield National Cemetery on October 13, 2011; Section A, Row D, Site 15.
Nearby veterans cemeteries
Sources
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. Find a Cemetery: all national cemeteries, and each cemetery’s own page. U.S. government work (public domain). Retrieved November 11, 2026. Used for: name, address, phone and burial-space status, hours, policies, history and notable burials.
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. Bakersfield National Cemetery (official cemetery page). Retrieved November 11, 2026.
- Map position: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Cemetery Administration. VA National Cemetery Sites (dataset).