Hermit Valley, CA…The Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway Association (EPSBA) will be hosting their 10th Annual Scenic Celebration on Saturday, September 10th, 2016 from noon until 7pm. We invite you to “Come Play on the Pass” with us and enjoy one of the last free, outdoor, live music events of the year. Our annual celebration takes place in Hermit Valley and is affectionately referred to as “Hermitfest” by locals and long time attendees. After formally cancelling the event last year due to the Butte Fire, we are ready make it up to all of you with more fun than ever this year.

Those who escaped the smoke and camped in Hermit Valley last year enjoyed music by Ten Dollar Pony throughout the weekend. Ten Dollar Pony will be back this year along with Hermitfest favorites Grover Anderson, The Hot Dark and Bill Welles with his new band The Distractions. Joining us for the first time this year will be Hick’ry Switch and the Brothers Strong.

The music begins around noon and will officially end at 7 pm but those of you who have attended before know that the music may continue around the campfire long into the evening. There will be food and beverages available for purchase provided by Bear Valley’s own Smokin’ Barrel Cafe who is new to Hermitfest this year. Tonja and Jana will be back with their locally roasted coffee, specialty teas, cold drinks and, new this year, deserts! The work of a few local artisans will also be available for purchase. Weather permitting, we will have opportunities for star gazing with telescopes & experts available at around 9pm to help us enjoy the stars, constellations and stories of the night sky.

And for those staying over, and weather permitting, it will be late night movie night, featuring Blazing Saddles beginning at around 10pm.

Hermit Valley has plenty of opportunity for hiking and playing in the river. Fall weather is generally warm and sunny but a quick afternoon rain shower is always a possibility in the mountains and you’ll want to make sure you bring warm clothing as the mornings and evenings can be quite chilly. Primitive campsites are available on a first come basis for those wishing to spend the night. There are sites in the immediate vicinity of the event as well as a few more on the river side of the road. Additional camping is available nearby in the beautiful Pacific Valley campgrounds. While we welcome your well socialized dogs, please keep them on a six-foot leash and do not leave them unattended. For those of you planning to spend the night, there will be late night treats and coffee and goodies on Sunday morning.

On your way to the celebration in Hermit Valley, stop by the Alpine County Chamber of Commerce offices in downtown Markleeville where they will have maps, cold drinks and lots of information about things to do over the weekend. On the Arnold side you may want to visit the Logging Museum, hike a portion of the Rim Trail or stop in at Big Trees State Park to admire the giant redwoods. It looks like the pools at Grover Hot Springs State Park, outside Markleeville, will be closed for maintenance this year.

Hermit Valley is located on Highway 4 in the Stanislaus National Forest about 38 miles east of Arnold and 23 miles west of Markleeville on the North Fork of the Mokelumne River at about the 7000 foot elevation. If you haven’t driven the pass before, remember that we are a scenic byway for good reason. The higher elevation portion of Highway 4 between Lake Alpine on the west and Silver Creek on the east is narrow, twisty, steep and so worth the drive with beautiful mountain views and many opportunities to get out of your car and take a closer look. The route over the top is not recommended for large RVs or trailers.

Ebbetts Pass was honored with National Scenic Byway status in 2005. It is one of only seven nationally-designated byways in California. The Ebbetts Pass Byway Association is the non-profit organization tasked with preserving, enhancing and promoting the unique resources of the byway. The EPSBA had developed a guidebook for the area which is available on our website for those who want to know more about the history, geology, wildlife and recreation available in the area.

This event is made possible by the generous support of our event partners and sponsors so make sure to visit them and let them know you appreciate their support of this event. Our 2016 event sponsor is Cal Waste with additional support from the Alpine County Chamber of Commerce, Bear Valley Business Association, Greater Arnold Business Association, Calaveras Big Trees Association, Barry Ward Realty, Cedar Creek Realty, Century 21 Realty, Ebbetts Pass Lumber& Ace Hardware, Little Trees Wellness, Mark Twain Hospital/Dignity Health, Tom’s Automotive and the US Forest Service.

We also want to thank Pioneer Electric, our local media and the many other organizations who all help to promote this event. We especially want to thank Ron Schaner who coordinates and schedules the musicians every year and is a tireless supporter of live music in the Ebbetts Pass area.

For more information about the Ebbetts Pass area, this event and what’s happening along the byway all year long, visit scenic4.org or facebook.com/Scenic4 or e-mail us at info@scenic4.org.

For other events in the area and lodging information, contact the Calaveras Visitors Bureau at 209-736-0049 (gocalaveras.com) or the Alpine County Chamber of Commerce at 530-694-2475 (alpinecounty.com). On the west side you can also visit bearvalley.com, cometoarnold.com, thepinetree.net, calaveraschronicle.com and visitmurphys.com.