When driving Interstate 5 from Southern California to Northern California, there aren’t a lot of great roadside attractions to stop and spend some time at. Fortunately, there is Bravo Land in Kettleman City, where Interstate 5 meets the 41.
Bravo Land is a wild west ghost town-themed roadside attraction that has pretty much everything a traveler could want and then some. There is a restaurant, antique store, ice cream parlour, fresh farm products, a massive gift shop, a playground, and a dog park. Kids can even pan for fossils and gems.
This is one of several roadside attractions run by Bravo Farms in Central California, but Bravo Land is by far their biggest. Bravo Farms opened their first location, featuring a petting zoo and a 7-story treehouse, in 1979 in Traver, CA. Bravo Land was opened in 2014 and takes up a whopping 32,000 square feet. It was even recently featured on the television show Redwood Kings on Animal Planet.
Bravo Land is reminiscent of Knott’s Berry Farm in a way. It has an old west motif, it was built to sell farm products, and it has attractions for the whole family to draw you in. There are several shooting galleries, complete with animatronics. One even has a car that looks like it was straight out of the movie Cars. Other animatronics are scattered throughout Bravo Land, notably a singing quartet of a deer, antelope, buffalo, and a prospector that performs for a dollar.
Here is a list of some of the stuff you can find at Bravo Land:
Wild Jack’s Tex Mex Barbeque – Wild Jack’s is the main restaurant at Bravo Land and has a variety of offerings, mostly of the barbecue variety. In addition to tri-tip sandwiches, BBQ chicken, hamburgers, and the like, they also have a few salad options. We recommend the Bravo Nachos.
Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Bar – There are no desert offerings at Wild Jack’s, but Doc Burnstein’s Ice Cream Bar is just a few feet away. There you can get a variety of ice cream flavors and shakes. They even have a date shake.
Playground – Bravo Land has a pretty cool playground for the kids that is themed like a wild west ghost town, just like the rest of the place. There are several different slides of different heights that would appeal to different age groups, as well as plenty of places to climb and explore. The playground area is enclosed on three sides as well, so there is no way for your kids to escape without noticing.
Shooting Galleries – The most elaborate thing at Bravo Land is their assortment of carnival shooting galleries, complete with animatronics. Even if you don’t play one, they are still fun to check out.
Bravo Farms General Store – The store at Bravo Land has a considerable assortment of souvenirs, snacks, sodas, and toys to keep kids busy. It also features a selection of farm-fresh items such as fresh fruit, milk, and cheeses.
Antique Store – On the second floor of Bravo Land is a pretty decent-sized antique store. I’m not sure you’ll find any hidden treasures there, but they did have a decent-sized assortment of old bottles, tins, and advertising signs.
Dog Park – If you have your dog with you, Bravo Land does have what looked to be a pretty nice dog park complete with artificial grass, water bowls, and plenty of trees.
Wine and Beer Bar – Probably not the best thing if you are on a road trip, but there was a pretty extensive wine and beer bar at Bravo Land too.
Clean Restrooms – This may be the most important thing when selecting a place to get off the road on a long road trip. No one wants to get out of the car after hours of driving and walk into a place that will put the city dump to shame. Bravo Land’s restrooms were immaculate on our visit.
All in all, Bravo Land is an enjoyable place to stop off Interstate 5 in Central California and is probably going to be our go-to stop when we are driving through the area. It has pretty much everything you need, good food, clean restrooms, and a lot to look at. Definitely worth spending a half hour or so there.
Bravo Land is located at 33341 Bernard Dr, Kettleman City, CA 93239.
