Quiet treasures dot town and outback
Butte County is full of strange and extreme bedfellows.
Tiny Gold Rush towns on Sierra Nevada slopes look out over the rice fields of the pancake-flat Sacramento Valley. It’s where the name Bidwell is attached not only to a city park three times the size of Golden Gate Park, but also to a pintsized ghost town where the only inhabitants these days are catfish and largemouth bass. It’s where duck hunters, apple farmers and chemistry majors rub shoulders and order a different kind of Sierra Nevada in funky downtown pubs. It’s where Table Mountain, one of the most prominent geographic features in a county named Butte, resembles a butte — but isn’t one. (Hint: It’s a basaltic plateau.)
Despite being situated where the valley meets the mountains and where some of the state’s mightiest rivers carve the landscape, Butte County is rarely listed among California’s mustsee destinations — but maybe it should be.
Here is what to know about this underappreciated region:
Great outdoors: The county includes portions of Lassen National Forest, Plumas National Forest, the Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge and the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, so there are plenty of opportunities for hiking, biking, boating, fishing and camping. If state and national parks aren’t enough (or too much), Chico’s city park runs the gamut from manicured landscaping and playgrounds to rugged gorges and hiking trails not recommended for beginners. (See story on Page F12.)
College town to the core: The city of Chico and California State University Chico have grown up together as inseparable twins who get along most of the time. Downtown is the place to be for the Saturday market, as well as seasonal night markets (Thursday) and free concerts (Friday). Downtown (Broadway, Main and Salem streets, between First and Sixth streets), also is home to a variety of eclectic cafes and whimsical pubs that reflect the contemporary dining and drinking habits of the student and faculty population. (If all else fails, there’s the National Yo-Yo Museum on Broadway, where you can appreciate a 256-pound Yo-Yo. It was tested for the Guinness Book using a crane.)
Agriculture culture: While no one will mistake Butte’s fledgling wine country for Napa or Paso Robles, it’s growing steadily and in not always predictable ways (New Clairvaux winery is owned and operated by Trappist monks). Combined with the county’s other agriculture products — chestnuts and olives to apples and rice (it’s one of the nation’s largest rice-producing regions) — there is a bumper crop of ways to experience and learn about Butte’s growth in growing. Follow the map for the Sierra Oro Farm Trail for highlights. (See story on Page F4.)
Laid-back mountain towns: It isn’t driving the Swiss Alps, but the road from Thermalito into the mountains is where you’ll find Paradise (that’s the town name). The winding roads offer a taste of Sierra Nevada landscape without a big commitment, as well as the flavor of former Gold Rush towns, quiet communities for people who aren’t missing the hustle, bustle and high costs of California city living. To sample the scenery, leave Oroville heading north on Highway 70, known here as the Feather River Scenic Byway, and just keep going. (See story on Page F14.)
Lake Oroville: Among the best-known local features (especially when in the news), is Lake Oroville and the 770-foot earthen dam keeping it in place. (See options on facing page.)