Hermit Valley, CA…The Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway Association (EPSBA) will be hosting their 12th Annual Scenic Celebration on Saturday, September 8th, 2018 from 11am until 8pm. 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 past attendees.

This year we’ll be enjoying the music of long time Hermitfest favorites Bill Welles and Grover Anderson who have been with us from the very beginning. Ten Dollar Pony will be back again this year too. We’ll also be welcoming Jimbo Scott, Nathan Ignacia & Sambossa to the valley.

The music begins around 11am this year and will officially end at 8 pm but those of you who have attended before know that the music may continue around the campfires long into the evening. There will be food and beverages available for purchase. Tonja and Jana will be back with their locally roasted coffee, specialty teas, cold drinks and who knows what else! The work of a few local artisans will also be available for purchase. Weather permitting; we will have opportunities for stargazing with telescopes & experts available at around 9pm to help us enjoy the stars, constellations, and stories of the night sky.

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.

Bring your fat tire ride and join the Bear Valley Trails Stewardship for the best Fat Tire Festival on Highway 4. Experience some of the best mountain bike riding in the area. The weekend festivities will include guided MTB rides, shuttles to the high points of some of our best trails, bike demos and gear sales, food and beverages (beer by Snowshoe Brewery), camping, games, raffles with plenty of swag. Contact BVTS to register at www.bearvalleytrails.org.

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 Calaveras Big Trees State Park to admire the Giant Sequoias. It looks like the pools at Grover Hot Springs State Park, outside Markleeville, will be open this year but it never hurts to double check at 530-694-2248.

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 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 2018 event sponsors are the Alpine County Chamber of Commerce & Cal Waste. We also receive financial support from many other individuals and organizations. Please visit our website to see the complete list. This event is presented under permit with the US Forest Service.

We also want to thank 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, calaveraschronicle.com and visitmurphys.com.