Lake Almanor Loop
Chester (Plumas County) · near Chester · Shasta Cascade
Road Cycling
At a glance
- Distance
- medium
- Best season
- May-October
What is here
- Scenery
- forest
- Amenities
- West-shore paved recreation path · Chester services · Lakeside picnic stops · Lassen Peak views
- Best for
- An easy, scenic lake-loop century that welcomes all levels
- Features
- Big mountain lake at ~4,500 ft · Home of the Mile High 100 century · Quiet east shore + car-free west-shore path · Lassen Peak on the horizon
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Some Hwy 36/89 traffic on parts of the loop · Afternoon wind across the open lake · Cool mornings at elevation
- Beginner friendly
- Yes
Road Cycling detail
- Nickname
- The Mile-High Century
- Ride types
- loop
- Road
- quiet
- Climbing
- 2
- Ride notes
- A mellow, mostly flat pine-forest circuit around a big mountain lake at ~4,500 feet, with Lassen Peak on the horizon - home of the popular 'Mile High 100' century and friendly to riders of every level
- Stats note
- ~30-35 mi loop, gently rolling, ~4,500 ft elevation (little cumulative climbing); a car-free rec path runs the west shore
- Intl tip
- Favor the quiet east shore (Hwy 147/A13) and the car-free west-shore recreation path over the busier highway stretches. Ride in the morning before the afternoon wind builds across the open lake. Chester has services.
The guide
The Lake Almanor loop is the region's friendliest road ride - a gentle, mostly flat circuit of about 30 to 35 miles around a bi…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Lake Almanor Loop — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 40.309, -121.23