(Note 9/21: The Dixie Fire in the summer of 2021 devastated the area north of Chester.  Expect near-total vegetation loss on these rides. See photos at the end of this post. All other photos are pre-burn.  JR)

There are three similar roads that run due north from Chester.  They’re all short—in each case after 6-13 miles the road turns to gravel.  They’re all fairly easy steady ups, featuring mellow climbing through what once was forest and is now bare ground and black tree trunks. 

One’s immediate reaction to fire damage is to assume that the ride is ruined.  Not so.  I actually find riding through burns to be rewarding in unexpected ways.  For one thing, you can see the lay of the land more clearly.  For another, you can see the road contour more clearly as it stretches before you.  Look at the two photos at the end of this post to see what I mean. For a third, the fire tends to shut down all commercial activity in the area, so the road tends to be deserted.  

Even before the burn, these were “best in the area” rides—not great, but worth doing if you’re at Lake Almanor and want to ride.   I can’t say which is the best, so I’ll list their differences and let you decide:

Warner Valley Road is the longest, widest, busiest (or it was before the fire), and easiest, and it has by far the best road surface—pure glass until a few frost heaves in the last 2 miles.

Juniper Lake Road is the steepest and curviest (and thus my favorite).  The road surface is far from perfect but not problematic with fat tires.

Road 10 (that’s its only name) is the narrowest, it has the longest, most extended descent, and it’s by far the most isolated.  Do this one if you like narrow roads and solitude.

WVR and JLR touch, so combining them into one ride is a natural.  Combining either with Road 10 would require riding an easy 5 miles (one way) through some beautiful, interesting north Lake Almanor shoreline.

Warner Valley Road

Distance: 26 miles out and back
Elevation gain: 1100 ft

(To see an interactive version of the map/elevation profile, click on the ride name, upper left, wait for the new map to load, then click on the “full screen” icon, upper right.)

Ride out of Chester on Feather River Drive (toward the east end of town), which at first looks like an ordinary small-town residential street.  In .7 miles you hit a Y, where the main road goes L to Drakesbad and the secondary road goes R to Juniper Lake.  There are no road-name signs, here or anywhere on our route, but all intersections are clearly marked by destination signs.  You’re going L, to Drakesbad, which is a resort at the end of Warner Valley Rd.  Somewhere the road gets renamed Warner Valley Rd. (aka Chester Warner Valley Rd.), but since there are no road-name signs you don’t care.

When  you hit a second Y, go R (again, signed “Drakesbad”).  This road is slightly rougher but no problem, and you actually ride out of the burn and get into green trees for the last leg.  Ride until the road turns to dirt, at which point you turn around.

Lots of riders turn around a bit before the dirt, at an unmissable spot where  there are remnants of an old ranch, a large dirt turn-out, the ride’s one break in the trees, and a nice view of Lassen Peak, all on your left (see photo).   It  seems an appropriate turn-around spot, since it’s the scenic high point of the ride.  The ride back is a gentle, unthreatening descent.

Juniper Lake Road

Distance: 13.5 miles out and back
Elevation gain: 1110 ft

Juniper Lake Road forks off Warner Valley Road .7 miles after you leave Chester.   It’s much like WVR, but shorter, curvier, a touch steeper, and a good bit more exhilarating on the descent.  

Road 10

Distance: 36 miles out and back
Elevation gain: 1550 ft

Drive or ride 5 miles east out of Chester on Hwy 36.  You’ll ride on a causeway crossing an inlet of Lake Almanor and its surrounding wetlands, a beautiful and ecologically interesting area.  Look for grebes nesting in the lake waters on your R in the summer—the nests are prominent floating little mats of grass.  Chester has a Grebe Festival to celebrate them.  The last time I was there I also saw white pelicans, seagulls, curlews, Canada geese, blue herons, snowy egrets, kingfishers, and pintails.

Turn L on the first real road that goes L.  It’s essentially nameless—a small sign reads “County Road 322,” but more visible is the sign reading “A13” on the road on the opposite side of 36.  Park in the gigantic Chester-Lake Almanor Snowmobile Park parking lot on the immediate R of 322.  There’s a good bathroom and a large map of the area at the parking lot.

Ride down 322 150 yards to a T.  To the R is New Chester Dump Road, gated and unsigned, though a sign does say “Green Waste Disposal.”  Go L and then R at the first fork.  This is Road 10, though you’ll have to ride a bit before it is so marked.  Stay on it for 10 miles, at which point it turns to gravel; return.

There is nothing up this road except dirt roads leading to remote lakes and wilderness areas, so you should have the place to yourself.  On a lovely summer Sunday morning I saw two vehicles in 20 miles.  The silence was intense.   I saw not a single house, cabin, farm, mailbox, or fence, but several deer.  The only sign that anyone has been there are several small clear-cut logging operations set back from the road, a small damper on your visual tranquility.  

The ride is a steady climb, at a pitch varying from easy to mild moderate, over pavement that is surprisingly good, for 8.3 miles.  1.7 miles from the turn-around, gravel sections start appearing, and the road becomes steadily more gravel and less pavement until finally the pavement ends.  Turn around any time the gravel sections cease to be fun—it’s only going to get worse.  By the end, you’re riding 50 ft of pavement, then 50 ft of gravel, over and over, but it’s all easily doable on 23 mm tires.

The ride back is a moderately fast, fairly straight, relaxing descent.  You’ll end with a few miles of brisk, 25-30-mph straight-line descending—not breath-taking but lots of fun.

Adding miles:   The loop around Lake Almanor is the default ride in the area, and it’s nice without being remarkable anywhere—I obviously prefer the rides in this post.  It’s mostly flat/straight/boring, but it does have the advantage of mostly not being burned—you’ll be in greenery on the north, east, and south legs.  

If you do ride around the lake, be sure to include Almanor Drive West, a charming alternative to a deadly boring stretch of Hwy 89 that .  If you like paths, parallel to Almanor Drive West is a small, sweet, twisting bike path, the Lake Almanor Recreation Trail, which I absolutely love it and ride it every time I’m in the area. 

You’re a short car trip or a moderate ride from our Indian Valley ride.  You’re 20-25 miles down the road from the Lassen National Park and Mill Creek Road rides.

When you’re at the second Y on Warner Valley Rd, the fork to the L (Old Red Bluff Road, unsigned), looks very inviting, but it turns to dirt soon after.

Afterthoughts:  Chester is the home base of Bodfish, a legend in California riding.  His bike shop is on Main Street on the lake side in the old part of town.  He’s happy to advise about routes, paved and dirt, and he has a free map of road and MTB rides in the area.

If you’re staying in Chester, I recommend the Bidwell House, a friendly, charming B and B that is the beautiful old summer vacation home of California’s historical titan John Bidwell.   It lacks air conditioning, but otherwise is a plum.