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.

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!

This is a really cute Park in a nice neighborhood that has a playground and a cement path where you…read morecan walk around and around all day. It's very useful and I love to see a lot of people be utilizing it. The park is clean and maintained and every time I have visited there have been a lot of people walking or playing with their dogs and children playing and riding bicycles. This is a great spot for a picnic or a walk or just to sit in the shade and relax. It also has one of those tiny free libraries in case you want to grab a book and just read for a while. They have two picnic tables, one on each side of the park and a water bottle refilling station. Even though it's a small park, I came here many times when I was in the area I would love to give it five stars but there is no restroom here and I saw lots and lots of people not picking up after their dogs. So walking in the beautiful green grassy area can be kind of a mind field. . Oh and they also have a couple of disc golf stations but I don't play and I never saw anyone using them just in case that helps.

Upper Bidwell Park, especially in conjunction with Lower Bidwell which goes right into the heart of…read moretown and the university, on the northern edge of downtown, is a wonderful park. The trails essentially from Bidwell mansion at the northern edge of downtown, along Big Chico Creek, go through the lower park, and for many miles into the foothills in the upper park. This allows easy access directly from town, and one can drive to various parking lots in the park. Scenery is varied from grassland to rocky outcroppings, walking or hiking along the heavily wooded creek or up o the hills and rocks, with some lovely scenery as well as some striking rocky scenery. There is nice swimming in the creek as well. This park system is a wonderful addition to the Chico area.

This place is gorgeous, and hands down the best dog park ever, but due to the horrible politics we…read moreno longer visit. Its pretty, but rife with bitchy, aggressive small dog owners. I have a young dog who is learning her manners, and is often mistaken for a Pit Bull. Many of the small dog owners were nice and understanding that puppies must make mistakes to learn, but on more than one occasion, we'd had a run in. It got to the point we'd end up getting verbally assulted by the end of each visit. Our dog was a pup and still working out her rude behaviors when we would go. The small dog owners had no tolerance for this, and I had to stop a couple of old Women from taking swings at my dog when she'd go by. It was insane. A couple of times a womn as able to land some kicks to my dog's head. So we don't go back. It makes for a miserable situation for everyone and leads to dog fights becuase they pick up on the negativity. I heard that they opened another dog park on the other side of town. I hope they put in a security guard to moderate the aggressive, fight-picking owners.

"Today, the Genetic Resource and Conservation Center produces plants for projects such as…read morereforestation, wildfire recovery, watershed restoration, fisheries, riparian habitat for threatened and endangered species, Native American culture values, oak woodland restoration, mine reclamation, campgrounds and interpretive areas, forest health including research and disease resistance, in addition to biological, chemical, and clinical research on anti-cancer drugs derived from plants." I give this place a 2 because of the people who take their dogs to this park. It ISN'T a dog park. They decided to allow visitors to walk your dogs around here, but for fracks sake keep your mutt on a leash. If you want to go to a dog park then go to something that's actually a dog park...Demargio or whatever it's called, but when you go to GRCC remember you are a guest. If you have a dog there freaking pick up it's poops, and KEEP IT ON A LEASE!

Great place to take a family picnic. Live the statues and nice easy to walk paths. Usually quiet…read moreand very peaceful.

What a hidden Gem. I've lived in the Paradise area since 2010 and I had never been to Merlo Park…read moreuntil 2 years ago when I moved to Stirling City. It is picturesque with many secluded areas with BBQ pits and picnic tables. Also has Horse Shoe area as well as Bacchiball (bring your own balls, LolNo pun intended. There are large ponds with ducks, huge fish that you are allowed to feed, and they wait for you to feed them. There are trails to walk. A gorgeous outdoor church to sit and reflect or pray complete with beautiful carved statue and rustic wooden cross. Must see. Beautiful Bronze statues of children at play throughout the park. Lots of shade and clean restrooms, Note: some of the paths to walk are gravel so proper shoes are important if you have any mobility issues.

It's an absolutely stunning part! It's kind of like if clotilda merlo, in Stirling City, had a…read moreplayground. I'd they say the only problem and it's a really weird problem, is the tiny Creek/ waterfall that goes under the little bridge at the lower portion of the park is so disgusting and toxic looking that it makes no sense! The whole park is maintained beautifully, but then the quality of water in this little man-made waterfall Creek is covered in foam, toxic everything garbage. It's like they forgot that they created this for like decades. It's just bizarre and disgusting. It's easy to ignore, luckily, but just weird. If you're going to have a water feature, you obviously have to maintain it, and they just didn't get that memo. My review is for the rest of the park, which is stunning and stellar! They have unique playground equipment, different than any other playground we go to, and we've been to literally every single playground you can find from Magalia to Orland to Dunsmuir to Yuba City. The weird Echo chamber in the dome portion is really cool and probably sounds really cool with live music. I have no clue, but it creates the weirdest Echo chamber I've ever been in. It's something that should be at the Exploratorium in San Francisco!

I love this park and love how this community actually uses it. On normal days, there are always…read morekids playing on the slides and swings and others having a picnic under the gazebos. There is a large BBQ for parties and smaller ones throughout the park. There are softball fields and lots of parking here. On event days half the town is over here for the carnival, or Lamb Derby, or AutoShow. Its so cool and so fun. During events the electrical is on so vendors can hook up and cook. We bring the dogs here sometimes but generally its a nice park to lounge at or to attend local events in town.

My son and I are always on the hunt for really great playgrounds and have yet to find one out this…read moreway. We've been here since 2017, and we've been to literally every single playground from Butte County to Glenn County, to Shasta County, and even the Mount Shasta area. This is cute, but it's not a great playground. It still has these useless cement structures that have zero purpose, besides getting in the way. I remember the same type of useless structures that children we're supposed to climb on and then just sit there doing nothing when I was a child in the 1960s. These are from that exact same era. They are faded and deteriorating and just make whoever takes care of the park look like they don't give a crap. From afar, the plastic structures look new, but when you get close, you see they've been faded by the sun significantly and are probably decades old. None of the slides are good. Everything is made for someone about 3 ft tall but definitely not older than whatever age would be more than that. An abundance of swings to a weird level. I've never seen a playground with this many swings, outside the main playground at Golden Gate Park..There's just no great structure to spend time in. The structures end with really pathetic bizarrely tiny slides. It's a huge park that never ever has anyone taking even more than 2% of it up at any given time. They should use that space for an amazing park for this area since literally nowhere out this way from Glenn County to Shasta County to Butte County has a decent large playground. It's great if your child is 4 years old max

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!

New to the area and went to this park with my 5 year old and 5 month old. THE PLAYGROUND IS NO…read moreLONGER THERE. There's a little bench area for toddlers and a set of swings. It was a nice neighborhood, the walking path was pretty spacious to walk with the stroller and the lawn was nice but disappointed that there isn't a playground anymore... which is a big reason to visit the park with your kids.

Quaint little park. It's a great place to go for a walk, exercise, relax when it's not crowded,…read morehave a picnic, walk your pets, for kids to play in that little playground with swings, slides, and there's a water-spouting dragon head for kids and maybe adults to play in. Unfortunately, due to the current drought situation in California, the water fountain was shut off. No splashing around under the dragon spout. It's a beautiful park, but there are miscreants who visit the park, probably at night, that do not have any decency because there was an occasion when a tree was streamed with toilet paper. There are also some people who do not pick up after themselves or their pets. The city provides disposable bags for pet owners and trash bins are around park, yet some do not discard their waste in it including alcohol beverage containers (by the way, alcoholic beverages are not allowed). These are just a few instances. Thankfully, there is a park maintenance worker who comes around during the day and clean up other peoples messes. I come here occasionally to walk around the park and get a little exercise. I do get a weird look sometimes because I'm listening to music and stop abruptly to do a step aerobic routine depending on the song and rhythm. It may look odd, but at least I'm exercising instead of being a miscreant. Keep our park clean, respect the property and appreciate it please!

Quaint aka very small park located along the Sacramento River. Quiet, scenic, and well maintained…read morewith two public bathrooms on prem. We enjoyed a nice outdoor lunch here en route and this park is located conveniently off the 5. The park ranger was friendly and on-duty when we were here too. Plenty of parking too. Definitely a nice outdoor lunch, restroom break, or doggy walk spot when passing through Red Bluff.

Very clean and quiet lots of shade and no homeless sleeping in bushes very well maintained and the…read morefishing is lightweight alright, the trail to the river has lots of Bees so be careful