North Kern State Prison

A CDCR reception center in Delano where men entering state custody are processed — a short distance from Kern Valley State Prison on the same avenue.

Overview

North Kern State Prison is one of CDCR’s male reception centers: incoming men are processed here — criminal records, life histories, medical and psychological information — over what CDCR describes as usually a 90-day period, before staff set a classification score and decide the long-term placement. A medium-custody general population yard and a minimum support facility with a ten-bed firehouse operate alongside the reception mission.

CDCR also locates its Central/Southern California transportation hub at North Kern, which makes the institution a routing point for movements across the state. For most families, like Wasco, this is a waypoint — the Transfers guide covers the next move.

What Makes North Kern State Prison Different

• It is a reception center first: most of the population is in intake and will transfer within months.
• CDCR’s own page calls the facility “an exact replica of its closest neighbor, Wasco State Prison-Reception Center” — the two reception centers sit about 20 minutes apart in the same corner of Kern County.
• It shares a street with Kern Valley State Prison, and the two Delano prisons use parallel post-office-box mailing schemes.
• CDCR’s transportation hub for Central/Southern California operates from the site.
• Visitor capacity differs by yard: the facility posts limits of five visitors (including children) on some yards and three on others.

Visiting Hours and Procedures

CDCR posts North Kern’s hours, walk-in windows, and yard-by-yard rules on the facility’s visiting status page. The posted end times differ between the reception yards and the A/M general-population yards.

Visits for people in restricted housing (RHU) require on-time arrival — the facility warns that late arrivals may lose the appointment. The facility’s posted notices state video visiting is no longer offered. Every minor needs a certified birth certificate, plus a notarized consent form when the accompanying adult is not the legal guardian.

Family (overnight) visits are governed by the statewide rules, which exclude anyone in the reception process. Statewide rules, dress code, and the approval process are covered in Visiting in California.

Getting There and Parking

North Kern is on the west side of Delano, just off the CA-99 corridor through the southern Central Valley.

CDCR does not publish North Kern-specific parking details online. CDCR directs visitors to check Caltrans QuickMap for road conditions.

Delano has a Greyhound stop on High Street, and Kern Transit’s Route 110 connects Delano with Bakersfield, Wasco, Shafter, and McFarland — but no published route serves the prison itself. Friends Outside provides van transportation for visitors; the facility’s visiting page lists (661) 725-3833 for transportation help, with Friends Outside services available Friday and Saturday.

Nearby Services

Delano has a small cluster of chain hotels, including Best Western Liberty Inn on County Line Road and Holiday Inn Express on Girard Street, with the much larger Bakersfield cluster about 35 minutes south.

Adventist Health Delano, a 156-bed hospital on Garces Highway in town, operates an emergency room that is open 24 hours.

Friends Outside operates a visitor center at North Kern — (661) 725-3833 — with childcare, clothing loans, transportation, and local information.

Learn More

For detailed information about visiting and communicating with someone at a California state prison:

• Transfers — what happens after reception and during transfers
• Visiting in California — CDCR approval process, dress code, scheduling
• Mail & Packages — What you can send and what gets rejected
• Phone & Video Calls — Call costs, tablets, and video visits
• Sending Money — How to add funds to a CDCR trust account
• Medical & Mental Health — Healthcare in CDCR facilities