One of my favorite places to go in Chico is Bidwell Park. We have family living in Chico and the…read morepark is in walking distance. I like to take warly morning walks through the park, getting my steps in. There are often many joggers, walkers, bikers and kids playing and families picnicing. Bidwell is the heart of Chico, spanning over 3,600 acres. Through the different seasons, the leaves change and provide a really beautiful park to explore. It's an older park, which you can see in the details - the outdoor swimming pool, bridges and layout. It was established in 1905, but has a long history of incorporating new areas to the park. I highly recommend checking out Bidwell Park, it's a natural treasure.

We stopped by Lower Bidwell Park on Tuesday because we had a couple of hours before a scheduled…read moreactivity. What a gem of a park. Beautiful trees shading an asphalt-paved walking/biking path. We really wanted to do loop walk, but never actually found that trail. I would want to give 4.5 if you could give half points, because more signage is needed to direct people toward the nature center and specific trails. That said, this park is such a great feature in Chico!

Our favorite park in Chico. It's so big, has so many different areas for the kids, and is so nice…read morefor families with multiple children of different ages. I love how everything is spread out, so even where there are a lot of kids, it rarely feels cramped. (I'm talking MAYBE felt a little cramped/more just full and busy with 3 or 4 classes on a field trip plus the normal traffic.) It is always well maintained and looks nice, feels safe for the kids with the fencing around it, and just overall a great place to be.

Park closed on Mondays!!. We were very disappointed. Especially my grandson. Hopefully we find…read moreanother spot.

Excellent park! My son and I search local parks that have some unique elements to them, and go at…read morenight, so we don't have to deal with humans. This park is Excellent, but needs swings. Never seen a playground with mo swing set!

Great little park. Two play structures. One is huge. A sand area. Large BBQ area, toddler…read moreplayground, bathrooms, large baseball area and field, bike racks, bike trail and more. The large play structure is the best park of the park. And because it's in north chico there aren't homeless hanging around.

Really fun park! Lots of different activities for all ages and we loved the sand box with the sand…read moretoys

Love this park! Has lots of play equipment for all ages of kids and is well maintained. I really…read morelike how much shade this park has for when the days are really hot. Definitely gonna come back here again and maybe bbq.

This is actually a great off-leash park! Our 2.25 yo pup, however, came down with kennel cough…read moreabout 5 days later. Yes, she is full vaccinated and not due for Bordetella for another 2 mos. We also had a nice long walk at Bidwell the following day, so it could have been picked up anywhere. That said, maybe put up a park notice that either a dog that was potentially exposed prior to going to the park, or picked it up at the park? There were a couple of puppies there who weren't yet fully vaccinated, so hopes they're all OK! Park gets a solid 4-stars (Bidwell is steep competition!) but please keep water buckets clean, just in case... and maybe the notice. Thanks!

A beautifully green, picturesque park. Wonderful for playing some sports, walking your dog or just…read moretaking a stroll to clear your mind as you take in the scenery. Compared to some other parks I've been to in Chico, this one is on the safer side. I've yet to have a negative experience here. Normally my reviews are a little longer, but it's a public park. You can come bask in the sun, unwind a little, play a sport, meet a friend, chat a little and have a pleasant time, sit on a bench while staring into the distance for no other reason other than it's calming. That's what I do when I go to any park.

it may look clean, but it has a lot of feces problems. There are fresh water showers, and it is wet…read moreand cool. Just do not drink the water.

More cities need community swimming holes like this one…read more It's a bit nostalgic, really, to think of a gathering place you could bring your family and friends to swim and have a good time... for free! Even more of a throwback was to see actual lifeguards on duty. There was even a snow cone vendor nearby. For a second I thought I was imagining myself in an 80s flick and waited for John Cusack to float by me on an inner tube... must have been the triple digit heat that day. Anyway, Chico continues to throw a surprise at me every time I visit and explore around. One Mile is a gem and I'm grateful to my friend for introducing it to me. Next time I'm bringing a picnic for sure. Check it out!

A challenging hike around 2 hours from EG/Sacramento. It's nearly 9 miles round trip but has a…read morebeautiful view of Feather Falls from the viewpoint deck. We went in March when the weather was unusually warm this year and the water was f l o w i n g. There isnt much tree cover as there used to be after the fires in this area, so if you're coming on a sunny day, be well prepared with sun protection and water. The majority of the hike is uncovered if you start after the morning hours. Parking lot is decent sized, on the day we came there were hardly any cars at 9am, but we saw more people when we finished around 1pm. There's also vault toilets at the trailhead

How amazingly gorgeous it is here!!! Full of sweet sweet serenity…read more.. For Easter, my daughter & I decided to go here for our hike!! First, the directions on Google maps suck. You need to keep going down the freeway passed Coal Canyon Road We parked in a large rocky parking lot. At this point, you need to use the bathrooms because there aren't any along your path or trail. I found it hard to stay hydrated because since there aren't bathrooms along the way. I didn't want to drink too much water in case it makes me have to go. We started our hike at 1:15pm. The first part of the hike is a very rocky dirt path. No shade. So wear your sun screen! It was beautiful along the way with beautiful green grass, gorgeous flowers. There were free range cows roaming around. This hike can be very challenging to someone who doesn't work out or get their heart rate up daily. There were a couple large Oaks trees offering us some shade just before you approach the quarry. It's a good resting point but we kept on. For this part, we were climbing down into a quarry, surrounded by trees and bushes, over the rocks, down the path, going back and forth... to come to the first waterfall. It was refreshing and rewarding! Being able to feel the water coming down over you after hiking down from the sun was exhilarating! Now, you have to climb your way up the other side. This is where a big challenge comes in. Up the other side, walking up a very vertical hill, over the rocks... really takes your breath away and makes your legs burn.. we loved every minute of it. When you get to the top, there are no trees up here, just more hills to walk up with rocks below your feet. So wear some good shoes! Getting to the top of that part was another waterfall. It was only visible from far away, but even more gorgeous! The sun was hitting it just right to make a rainbow in the mist. It took us 2 1/2-3 hours to get to that particular part of the hike (we spent quite a bit of time at the previous waterfall). At this point we decided to go back... but you need to go back the way you came. We were pretty out of shape for this hike but we love challenges. So up and back over the hills, back down the steep quarry full of trees, down the rocky path, back to the first waterfall (and we spent time down there again, lol) and then climbing out of that quarry, we decided to stop at those big oak trees to make a sandwich to share. After our long rest, getting some fuel in our bodies, and getting nice and hydrated, we started out way down the rocky path. Again, the rocky path made it very challenging. Our legs were really worked from all the climbing up the hills we did so we've smaller hill after that made us feel the burn! Oh... there nothing like the motivation of seeing that parking lot, lol. It was indeed time to get into the air conditioned car and into a comfy seat in the car. Oooh and finally!!! Bathrooms!!! Lol My daughter & I had a blast on our hike for Easter. There were so many families that day who had the same idea. The weather was perfectly sunny with a slight breeze. It was 6 p.m. by the time we sat in the car and turned on the air conditioning. Great timing since I didn't have to drive in the dark on our way home!

Roads are not maintained. The trail is damaged and dangerous. Even with an all wheel drive vehicle…read morewith all terrain tires you'll struggle getting up and down. Anyone without a lifted all wheel drive vehicle should steer clear. The trail itself is not recommended as it is damaged and not safe to hike. It's been 3 years and the roads only worsened. Not recommended for most folks.

Not only was there not much to see as The Flumes do not exist anymore due to the Paradise fire but…read morethis is also a car death trap due to the dangerous roads that have unavoidable pot holes and massive sharp rocks sticking out of the ground which destroyed my engine and several people have lost oil pans travelling down this road, the road leading down needs to be shut down as soon as possible until it gets fixed up to be safe to drive on.

I was traveling north on I5 with my 3 kids and stopped to take a break. This was an awesome stop…read morealbeit a bit off the freeway. Park was super clean and well kept and the water feature made the hot day bearable. Grab food beforehand and have a fun family picnic.

What an awesome park in such a small town! The playground area is great, very clean and so…read moreappealing to kids. The main fort is three stories tall and has plenty of interactive spots. There's a swing on a line that you can run and jump onto, very neat. A few interesting singular merry-go-rounds and a monkey bars set. There is plenty of grassy area all around and a cute water play area that you can turn on with the touch of a button. Definitely take your kids here!

Very clean and fun park for my almost 3 year old. Lots of shade covering the grassy areas. Only…read moredrawback is the wood chips under the playground (splinters), and a few crazy homeless people who were angrily yelling and wandering right past the playground.

This was an awesome playground very close to downtown Chico, the new-ish Gateway Science Museum and…read moreCSU Chico. In short, awesome and convenient location. It has a play structure for the 5+ set as well as a smaller playground for younger kids. My 5-year old son had so much fun there, he wanted to go again the very next day (we were visiting from out of town). Also, there are picnic tables and a huge grass area and it is next to the river! Loved it. Literally spent hours there over the course of 2 days.