Chester/Lake Almanor Area Lake Almanor and its magnificent views of Lassen Peak make it a popular base camp for fall foliage drives. Start out on Main Street in Chester, where cottonwoods and domestic maples grace the highway and banks of the Feather River. Miles of reddened dogwood are found east and west on Hwy. 36. Turning onto Feather River Drive at the fire hall, you’ll be rewarded with glowing birch and aspen along forest roads to Warner Valley, Benner Creek and Juniper