Sell Your Westwood Home

Westwood is a small former mill town at about 5,000 feet elevation in western Lassen County, about 10 miles from the western shore of Lake Almanor. It offers very affordable housing on wooded lots with easy access to Lake Almanor recreation and Lassen Volcanic National Park. Services are minimal — residents go to Chester for most shopping — but property prices reflect that, making it one of the best value-per-dollar markets in the region.

Westwood has some of the lowest home prices in the Lake Almanor region, with residential properties typically in the $100,000–$250,000 range. The value gap compared to lakefront Chester or Almanor West is substantial — buyers who don't need to be on the water can get significantly more home for the money in Westwood. Wooded lots and off-grid parcels in the area can be purchased for very modest amounts.

Westwood is about 10 miles from the western shore of Lake Almanor — roughly a 15-minute drive to Chester and the lake. The Canyon Dam area, which sits at the northwestern tip of the lake, is even closer. Westwood serves as the more affordable base for buyers who want Lake Almanor access without lakefront prices.

Westwood was a company timber town built by the Red River Lumber Company in the early 1900s — one of the most ambitious planned mill towns in California history. The mill closed in 1956 and much of the original company infrastructure has been repurposed or removed, but the town retains its grid layout and some original structures. The Paul Bunyan statue on Main Street is a legacy of the lumber era.

Westwood is one of the closer communities to the southern entrance of Lassen Volcanic National Park, about 30 miles away via Highway 36. The park's Brokeoff Mountain trailhead and Sulphur Works are accessible in about 45 minutes. Lassen Volcanic is one of the least-visited national parks of its size in the lower 48 — buyers who want national park access without Yosemite-level crowds often find Westwood's proximity appealing.

Westwood has limited comparable sales and an unusual market dynamic — proximity to Lake Almanor matters more than size or condition in many cases. Automated tools handle this market poorly. Shay Mullanix provides free, no-obligation home valuations for Westwood and the western Lassen County area.