The Lake Almanor Area Chamber of Commerce puts on the Fourth of July fireworks over Lake Almanor, and it costs nearly $30,000 a year. Every dollar comes from donations. Part of next summer's money will be raised on Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, Nov. 26, 2026, by people running, walking and pushing strollers through Bailey Creek.
The Chamber Turkey Trot 5K starts in the Bailey Creek Golf Course parking lot and follows a course around the Bailey Creek community. The Chamber's event page says proceeds benefit the Fourth of July fireworks.
The course winds down before the parking lot fills up
By the time this post goes up, Bailey Creek Golf Course is on its late-season rates. The 2026 rate sheet starts an "October 5th – End of Season" band. Eighteen holes with a cart before 1 p.m. cost $79, down from $119 between Sept. 8 and Oct. 4. Super twilight after 3 p.m. drops to $40. The sheet doesn't give a closing date. The season ends when the weather and the course say it does, so call the pro shop before you load the clubs.
Once the tee sheet thins out, the parking lot at 433 Durkin Drive gets one more big morning before winter. This is a long-running event. A Plumas News listing called the trot an annual 5K back in 2022, when it ran on Nov. 24 from the same lot, with proceeds going to the Lake Almanor Area Fireworks Fund.
Thanksgiving morning, start to finish
The Chamber has set the 2026 schedule early enough to fit in before the turkey goes in the oven:
- 7:00 to 7:45 a.m. Check-in and day-of registration
- 8:00 a.m. The 5K starts
- 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. Parking lot party, with light freshmade refreshments, a water fill station, hot drinks, fire pits and a 50/50 Turkey Toss
Adults can warm up after the finish with a Mountain Hot Trotty made with local Timber House bourbon, according to the Chamber's page. Timber House sits at 501 Main Street in Chester and is a restaurant, brewery, distillery and lodge all in one. Sierra Rec Magazine reported that the owners were already distillers in Durham, California, before they built the Chester brewery and distillery alongside the restored restaurant and lodge.
Registration comes with Thanksgiving socks, and the Chamber's dress code is "layers, layers… and more layers." All ages and fitness levels are welcome, and walkers are as welcome as runners. You can register online, or call the Chamber at 530-208-5330. The Chamber's office is now at 102 Meadowbrook Loop in Chester.
What one morning adds up to, set against a $30,000 show
Last year's numbers give a sense of scale. The Chamber reported that more than 70 runners, walkers and strollers came to Bailey Creek on Nov. 27, 2025, and raised over $1,000 for the fireworks, as The Plumas Sun reported in December. That covers a little over one-thirtieth of a show that costs nearly $30,000. The trot is one of several fundraisers that add up to the full budget over the year.
Here's how the 2025 to 2026 fireworks year played out, based on the Chamber's own reports:
| When | Event | Where | What it contributed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 27, 2025 | Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K | Bailey Creek Golf Course parking lot | 70-plus participants, over $1,000 raised |
| Dec. 31, 2025 | "Fourth of July in Winter" skate and light show | Chester Park ice rink | Fundraiser for the July 2026 show |
| Year-round | Donations through the Almanor Foundation's Chamber Fireworks Fund | Online and in person | The rest of the roughly $30,000 budget |
| July 4, 2026 | Fireworks over Lake Almanor | Over the lake | The show itself |
In that cycle, the Turkey Trot came before the winter skate night, and it happens in Bailey Creek.
A show that has needed every fundraiser
In June 2024, The Plumas Sun reported that the July 4 display would launch from beside the Chester airport that year because of fluctuating lake levels and other circumstances. All Phase Landscaping provided private property for the launch.
Then in December 2025, the Chamber canceled fireworks for New Year's Eve because of limited budgets. In their place, it held a skate and light show at Chester Park as a fundraiser, with the July fireworks planned for the Lake Almanor barge, according to The Plumas Sun. The Chester Park rink was open from 4 to 9 p.m. that night, and the light show started at 9.
The July show went up over the lake in 2026, the year Chester marked America's 250th. Afterward, the Chamber told The Plumas Sun that the show costs nearly $30,000 every year and takes months of fundraising. Staff asked people who enjoyed it to donate:
"Every dollar helps keep this tradition alive."
Money for the 2027 show is part of what the 8 a.m. start on Nov. 26 raises.
Around the trot, the rest of November
The trot falls in the middle of a busy month, and most of the other events are a short drive from Bailey Creek:
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 5 p.m. Paint Your Own Pottery with Charcuterie & Clay at Waganupa Brewing. Visit Plumas lists it at $40 per person, with RSVPs by call or text to (530) 945-7809. Waganupa opened its Chester taproom at 401 Main St. this August.
- Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13 and 14, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Lake Almanor Area Holiday Shopping Tour covers Chester, Lake Almanor, Greenville, Crescent Mills and Taylorsville.
- Thursday, Nov. 26, 8 a.m. The Chamber Turkey Trot at Bailey Creek.
- Friday, Nov. 27. Chester's Christmas Village Tree Lighting at Chester Park on Willow Street, with a welcome ceremony at 5 p.m. and the tree lighting at 5:30.
That makes Thanksgiving weekend a run from the Bailey Creek parking lot on Thursday morning to Chester Park on Friday evening.
If you're lacing up on Nov. 26, the team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Lake Almanor Real Estate would love to see you in Bailey Creek, in Thanksgiving socks at the 8 a.m. start. Questions about the neighborhood beyond race day are always welcome too. Discover Lake Almanor Homes with us.
