www.reserveusa.com
Length: Road Bike - 8 miles of low traffic roads
Mountain Bike – 18 miles of single track, 4 connecting loops: Carson, Frontier, Buckbrush and Angels Arm
Surface: Road bike – smooth asphalt Mountain bike – all dirt
Climbing: Lowest to highest, about 340 feet
Start: Road bike - Glory Hole Sporting Goods Market
Mountain bike - various parking lots – look for the trailhead
Highlights: Scenic, wildlife, exercise and endurance
The camping facilities at New Melones Lake are managed by the Bureau of Reclamation. The phone number for the New Melones Lake Visitors' Center is (209) 536-9094. You can make reservations at www.reserveusa.com.
The Visitors' Center, in addition to handling the campgrounds, offers wonderful information about the lake and the surrounding area. Stop by for a visit, and be sure to check out the rangers' list of planned activities. They host talks on a variety of subjects pertaining to the wildlife and history of the area, as well as guided hikes. New Melones Lake, while open to fishing and camping 24 hours a day, has an entrance gate (you can exit any time) that closes late at night and opens before dawn each morning, to help keep vandalism down. Be sure you call the Visitor's Center to find out when the gate will be closing, if you plan on arriving late.
There are 318 campsites at New Melones Lake. Campsites are $16.00 per night. Reserving an available campsite is seldom a problem, except for some holiday weekends. Each campsite has picnic table, fire ring with grill, and shared water. There are no hook-ups available. There are bathroom and shower facilities (bring quarters to pay for showers) at all campgrounds. There is a free dump station for campers at Tuttletown.
At the Glory Hole Recreation Area (Calaveras side-where we are located), there are 55 campsites in Big Oak Campground, and 89 in Iron Horse Campground. The Glory Hole Recreation area is closer to town and shopping and entertainment facilities. The New Melones Lake Marina is on this side. There are challenging hiking and biking trails on this side.
On the Tuolumne side, at Tuttletown Recreation Area, there are 34 campsites in Chamise Campground, 69 in Acorn Campground, 55 in Manzanita Campground, as well as two group reservation sites- Oak Knoll (holds 80 people) and Fiddleneck (holds 48 people). The group sites are available by reservation only. There are a few sites in Manzanita Campground that are close to the water (when the lake is full), but for the most part, water is too far from campsites to allow for boat camping.
For those campers who want hook-ups, Angels RV, located at the entrance to Glory Hole Recreation Area (and across the street from us) is the place to call. Their phone number is (209) 736-0404. This well-run, clean facility offers sites with hook-ups, tent sites, and even camping cabins. They have a small pool and a barbeque area as well.
