Driving to Cedar Lodge from Reno and Sacramento

From Reno

Travelmath’s driving calculation puts Reno to Chester at about 121 miles, roughly two hours on the road. The practical route runs north out of Reno on US 395 toward Susanville, where Highway 36 takes over heading west. Highway 36 then runs through Susanville and over the summit toward Lake Almanor, meeting Highway 89 at our corner.

It is a two lane highway for most of the second half, climbing and descending real grade rather than running flat, so budget more time than a straight mileage number implies, especially in the dark or in weather.

From Sacramento

The same calculation puts Sacramento to Chester at about 153 miles, roughly two and a half to three hours. The route locals actually drive runs north out of the valley toward Marysville and Oroville, then northeast on Highway 70 through the Feather River Canyon, one of the more dramatic drives in this part of California, before picking up Highway 89 and then Highway 36 into Chester.

This route follows a river canyon for a long stretch, which means cell coverage drops in and out and there are fewer places to stop for gas than the mileage suggests. Fill up before you leave the valley floor.

In winter, budget more than the map says

Both routes cross terrain that can carry chain control in winter, and a chain requirement adds real time, not a few minutes. We wrote a separate page on what R1, R2 and R3 actually mean and what happens if you show up without chains: chain control on Highway 36 and 89, explained. Read it before a winter trip from either direction, and check Caltrans QuickMap the morning you leave rather than the night before.

Flying in

The airports people ask about most are Reno Tahoe International, Redding Municipal and Chico. We have no sourced drive time to any of them, and whichever you fly into, you need a car from there: there is no bus or train connection into Chester worth sending you to.

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