Ellis road to Calaveras dome

Great news!  What does the legal access situation look like currently?  I saw something about Stanislaus National Forest issuing $5000 fines for driving on closed roads, but the roads around Cal Dome are a labyrinth, so I wasn't sure.

Any closures to be aware of getting to Calaveras Dome? Are Ellis and Bear River road both 2WD accessible?

Nick Niebuhrwrote:

Any closures to be aware of getting to Calaveras Dome? Are Ellis and Bear River road both 2WD accessible?

None that I'm aware of.

There is some campground access issues, however, as Moore Creek was closed down in Aug of 2020 and still hasn't reopened. At least it was still closed when I was there a month and a half or so ago. 

People were leaving too much trash and causing too much work for rangers, including leaving toilet paper all over the place, even though there is a f-ing bathroom on site, so they decided to make it another fee based area with a host. Perhaps Covid halted said plan, I don't know, but it never reopened. 

It was probably the last non-fee based legit campground (non-dispersed) I can think of anywhere around here. And when they do get it rolling again it will open fee based, I'm sure. 

It's a shame. 

Thanks for the info. Are the other camp spots still open to your knowledge?

Nick Niebuhrwrote:

Thanks for the info. Are the other camp spots still open to your knowledge?

I think so. Just harder to get a spot now, that's all.

Do anyone know if Ellis Road is currently open? No significant rain/snow since December so hoping it has opened early? If not, is Panther Rd or Tiger Rd open, how are the current conditions on those roads?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

As of 2 weeks ago there was still like 5-6 feet of snow before the gate.
likely lower now but I’d doubt it’s open yet 

We've had two or maybe three storms recently that brought a bit of snow, actually. People were still sledding on Ellis Rd when I went by on Sunday. That's all I know, though.

Ryan Never climbs wrote:

tiger creek road

Thank you for the quick responses, everyone! Much appreciated.

Sounds like Tiger Creek Rd is the only option right now. How long does it take from the highway to Cal Dome if driving on Tiger Creek Rd? Anything special to be aware of if going that way?

You mean OTHER than the Tigers in the creek crossing....?  Just saying...

Calaveras Dome Road Conditions on 3/25/2022:

Currently, none of the three roads leading into Cal Dome are accessible.

Tiger Creek Road:

Currently closed at the PG&E power station (about 2 miles down the road). The sign says that it will be periodically closed from 3/1 to 5/7. My guess is that this road will remain closed until at least May 7th.

Panther Creek Rd:

The gate about a mile down the road is currently closed. There is some snow around the turn in the picture, but easily passable by any car. Unsure about the road conditions further down, but would seem like it should be possible to open this road soon. If it actually will get opened is another question...

Ellis Creek Rd:

Currently about 3 ft of snow on the road, and not passable with most cars. This picture is taken by Hwy 88. Unsure about road conditions further down.

Conclusion: Unless you are extremely dedicated, climbing at Cal Dome has to wait for a while. We ended up climbing at Woodfords instead.

Ryan Never climbs wrote:

hopefully panther opens soon otherwise gonna have take the roads to the top of the dome. 

Wouldn't those roads also be snow-covered? Hoping to get out there in a couple weeks, coming from the eastside, and really hoping access can be used from Hwy 88 and not Hwy 4 since Ebbetts Pass I'm sure will be closed for some time. 

Anyone been up to Calaveras recently?  I called the Amador Ranger Station, they were able to tell me that the gate for Ellis Rd opened a week ago but they didn't know what the road conditions were.  As far as camping, the ranger station said the campgrounds near Salt Springs Reservoir are now being operated by a concessionaire and she didn't have current info on whether/when they're opening.  Any on-the-ground info much appreciated.  Thanks!

It was open, then closed again over the weekend from the recent storm.  Shouldn't take too long to melt, however it's unpredictable how long they will wait to open the gate.

This was Sunday evening (4/24/2022)

Does anyone think Ellis Rd will be passable by this weekend? Or Cal dome will be accessible by any other 2WD route?

Michael Vaillwrote:

Does anyone think Ellis Rd will be passable by this weekend? Or Cal dome will be accessible by any other 2WD route?

My guess would be no. Maybe two weeks?

https://www.fs.fed.us/r5/webmaps/SierraSnowDepth

If anyone has an update on Ellis snow conditions I’d be interested before driving out there tomorrow. Thanks! 

Eric Gwrote:

If anyone has an update on Ellis snow conditions I’d be interested before driving out there tomorrow. Thanks! 

Did you end up going out? Thinking about heading out this weekend.

Ellis Road is open and clear. The domes are clear and in prime shape. There is some seepage on the .10b 3rd pitch of Silk Road. The crux pitch of Rastaman is fairly clean and chalked up. The campsites along the River are not closed to camping, they only have no Dumping signs posted. The now “pay” sites are still closed. It’s Cal Domes season folks! Get on it.

Bring some extra trash bags and fill them up if camping along the River. The amount of trash in the bushes is sad and talking with the ranger out there, access to these valuable sites is not a guarantee for the future. Make our presence known and welcome. Let’s be the user group that is most welcome here.

The trail to Cal Dome proper is in need of some work. PG&E cleared the Forrest below the power lines and basically erased the existing trailhead. Debris need to be cleared and there are a few downed trees across the trail which need cut and removed. So heads up!