Overview
Chico is in Butte County in California. Chico is the cultural and economic center of the northern Sacramento Valley, as well as the largest city in California north of Sacramento. The city is known as a college town, as the home of California State University, Chico, and for Bidwell Park, one of the largest urban parks in the world.
5 sights · 1 things to do · 9 places to eat · 4 bars & cafés · 7 places to stay
Updated from Wikivoyage on 1 October 2026 · Something wrong or missing? Improve it on Wikivoyage
Best things about Chico
Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park
This 26-room mansion formerly owned by John and Annie Bidwell was the first in the state to have indoor plumbing. 50-minute tours of the mansion depart at 11AM, 1PM, and 3PM.
National Yo-Yo Museum
The largest collection of yo-yos in the U.S.
Chico Air Museum
Bidwell Park
America's seventh largest municipal park offers hiking, biking, swimming, and numerous other options for outdoor recreation. The lower section of the park begins near Highway 99 and extends north-east through the city an…
Colman Museum & Centerville Schoolhouse
Gateway Science Museum
Plan your trip
Best time to visit & weather
Most comfortable: Mar–May, Oct–Nov. Summer highs reach about 100°F; winter lows dip to about 37°F. Very hot (Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep) — plan outdoor time for mornings. Wettest: Dec and Jan. (climate data from nearby Redding)
Blue bars: average daily high and low (°F). Purple columns: average monthly rain and melted snow (inches).
Getting there
- From you: to see whether to drive or fly, and how long it takes.
- RDD Redding Municipal Airport, Redding — 58 mi away. Directions
- SMF Sacramento International Airport, Sacramento — 74 mi away (major hub). Directions
Amtrak makes a once-daily stop in Chico at the Chico Station at 450 Orange St on Orange and W 5th St with the following:
Full “Get in” guide ↓Budget & where to stay
No prices are listed for this place yet. See the Sleep guide ↓ for options.
Sample 2-day itinerary
Day 1
- Morning Bidwell Mansion State Historic Park, Gateway Science Museum, National Yo-Yo Museum
- Lunch Morning Thunder Cafe
- Afternoon Bidwell Park, Colman Museum & Centerville Schoolhouse
- Dinner Woodstock's Pizza
- Evening Sierra Nevada Brewery
Day 2
- Morning Chico Air Museum
- Lunch Red Tavern
- Dinner Aca Taco
- Evening Panama's Bar and Cafe
Stops are grouped by area so each day needs little backtracking. Check opening hours before you go.
Food for you
Cuisine (tap to filter)
What to ask about, for your diet
Diet labels come from each listing's description and cuisine; “likely” means the cuisine usually has good choices, not a promise. Check with the restaurant. Open the food finder
Photos
Map
Every listing with a location. Tap a pin for its Google Maps link.
Understand
- Chico City Council website
Get in
By train
Amtrak makes a once-daily stop in Chico at the Chico Station at 450 Orange St on Orange and W 5th St with the following:
- Amtrak Coast Starlight makes an once daily trip in each direction between Seattle and Los Angeles, serving Tacoma, Lacey, Centralia, Kelso, Vancouver, WA, Portland, Salem, Albany, Eugene, Klamath Falls, Dunsmuir, Redding, Chico, Sacramento, Davis, Martinez, San Francisco (Emeryville), Oakland, San Jose, Salinas, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Van Nuys, and Burbank.
By car
Chico straddles SR 99, and is also accessible via SR 32 east of Orland at Exit #619 off Interstate 5 (I-5).
By bus
Go Greyhound
Greyhound travels along I-5/SR-99 between Portland and Sacramento via Salem, Corvallis, Eugene, Roseburg, Grants Pass, Medford, Weed, Redding, Chico, Oroville, and/or Marysville. Passengers transfer buses in Medford, Redding, Sacramento or Los Angeles to reach additional destinations. Some of the buses are direct between Redding and Sacramento. Check schedules.
By plane
The nearest international airport is in Sacramento (SMF) located 90 mi to the south. Chico also hosts a general aviation airport known as the Chico Regional Airport (CIC) four miles north of the city.
Get around
Ride a bike. One of the best bike friendly towns around, the locals and students prefer to bike around it.
Taxis are prolific and cheap, and must be called to your location to pick you up.
The bus transit system, the B-line, will take you most places around the city at an hourly rate.
See
Do
Do Bidwell Park
America's seventh largest municipal park offers hiking, biking, swimming, and numerous other options for outdoor recreation. The lower section of the park begins near Highway 99 and extends north-east through the city and continues five miles into the foothills north of the city.
Buy
Shop Bird in Hand
Selling a wide range of products, from Tommy Bahama to toys. Also has a Yo-yo museum, which houses the world's largest wooden yo-yo.
Eat
Eat Aca Taco
Aca Taco is one of the most popular late-night treats in Chico. Their popular burritos are a perfect addendum to a night well spent.
Eat 5th Street Steakhouse
An expensive fine dinner restaurant, this small but divine steakhouse is known as much for its extensive wine cellar as it is for its steaks.
Eat Italian Cottage
Awesome breakfast omelettes, especially the spicy Italian one with marinara sauce, melted cheese, sausage, and pepperoni.
Eat Morning Thunder Cafe
Large portions and voted Best Breakfast of Chico for many years by vote in the local newspaper The Chico News and Review. They have a different flavor muffin everyday, and the muffins are recommended when the meal comes with a choice of bread. Breakfast potatoes can be made extra crispy if you ask and are particularly good if you do so.
Eat Nobby's
Popular burger joint. Burgers can come with a crispy cheese skirt. Outdoor seating is available and preferable on a nice day since the inside can be a little cramped.
Eat Red Tavern
Expertly made, California-cuisine style meals. Reservations definitely needed on weekend nights.
Eat Sierra Nevada Taproom and Restaurant
This is one of Chico's landmark restaurants. Sierra Nevada Brewery has been a Chico icon since its founding in 1979. Chicoans take great pride in their local brewery and Sierra Nevada can be found all throughout the town. The accompanying taproom and restaurant is one of the most popular places to eat in Chico. Almost always filled to capacity, the wait can be long sometimes, but the prices are reasonable and the food is top tier.
Eat T. Bar and Fusion Cafe
California fusion cuisine and a wide variety of teas, the Chocolate Chai Frost being one of their most popular drinks. Although not stated on the menu any drink can be made into a frost, sparkling, etc. Just ask, for example, to turn a Strawberry Lime sparkling tea into a Strawberry Lime frost and they will be happy to oblige.
Eat Woodstock's Pizza
The title of best pizza joint in Chico is a contentious one and no one faults Woodstock's for throwing their hat into the ring. The variety of options and the tasty desserts are the perfect fuel for a night of studying or a night on the town.
Drink
Drink Joe's Bar
Sawdust on the floor, music blaring, cheap drinks, a back patio, and a crowd that will be singing along after midnight.
Drink Madison Bear Garden
"The Bear" as it is locally known is a favorite of the students of CSU Chico. A variety of burger variations is enough to keep any student sated for years. For the particularly adventurous the Jiffy Burger (a hamburger with peanut butter!) is a must. At night the Bear transforms from a kitchy burger spot for locals to a late-night party with theme nights, contests, and music on the second floor into the wee hours of the morning.
Drink Sierra Nevada Brewery
Take a tour, try some of the best microbrew in the country. Privately owned, the brewery offers an alehouse with excellent food and good beer for around $2.50 a glass. Try the beer sampler.
Drink Panama's Bar and Cafe
A favorite of students this cafe-cum-bar is an energetic and vibrant club known almost as much for its dance floor as it is for its Long Island Iced Teas. The fun tropical theme and fun atmosphere makes a fun alternative to some of the larger bars in Chico. While not a gay bar, it does have a gay-friendly atmosphere.
Sleep
Budget
Mid-range
Splurge
Stay Hotel Diamond
The original Diamond Hotel opened for business in 1904 as the "only strictly first-class house in Chico, and the superior of any North of Sacramento." A major fire in 1916 closed the doors. From the 1920s to the 1990s, the building was occupied by Chico State University students as dormitory or a low-cost hotel and eventually abandoned empty. The new Hotel Diamond opened its door in May 2005.
Go next
- Gold Country - Where the formation of California really took place.
- Mount Lassen - Excellent outdoor hiking and breathtaking scenery in the volcanic park about an hour and a half from Chico.
- Oroville - Twenty minutes east of Chico is this town that has more history as a Gold Rush-era boom town.
- Sacramento - About 1 hour and 45 minutes south of Chico and the capital of California.
Nearby
Oroville
City / town · 25 listings · 22 mi away
Corning
City / town · 5 listings · 23 mi away
Willows
City / town · 7 listings · 25 mi away
Red Bluff
City / town · 25 listings · 37 mi away
Mill Creek
City / town · 1 listings · 43 mi away
Marysville
City / town · 5 listings · 43 mi away
Yuba City
City / town · 5 listings · 44 mi away
Williams
City / town · 5 listings · 44 mi away
My experience
Write about your trip here. Notes save automatically in this browser as you type; back them up from My journal.