Highway 70 Road Trip

Explore the Bok Kai Temple

Bok Kai Temple in Marysville is a local tem­ple still in use by many mem­bers of the Chi­nese com­mu­ni­ty today, and though not a muse­um, it offers vis­i­tors a chance to wor­ship or respect­ful­ly observe the Bud­dhist, Con­fus­cian, and Daoist iconog­ra­phy on dis­play in a beau­ti­ful sacred space locat­ed along Marysville’s his­toric 1^st Street. There is also a small Chi­nese muse­um at the east end of the street, if you hap­pen to catch it dur­ing its rare open­ing hours and want to do a lit­tle more cul­tur­al exploration.

Get there: From Sacra­men­to, take I‑5 North to CA-99 North then take the CA-70 North exit. Once you get into Marysville, take a left onto 3^rd Street, then a left onto F Street, and fol­low that around the bend until you hit the cor­ner of 1^st and D streets, where you’ll see the path that leads to Bok Kai Temple’s entrance beneath an ornate archway.

Enjoy Bock’s Fruit

Con­ve­nient­ly locat­ed right on High­way 70, Bock’s Fruit has been a road­side sta­ple since 1967. From spring through ear­ly fall, you can make a quick stop and take home a huge vari­ety of fresh fruit, includ­ing their extreme­ly pop­u­lar peach­es, plus a small selec­tion of sea­son­al veg­eta­bles. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll be sure to remem­ber it for your next time pass­ing through.

Get there: From Bok Kai Tem­ple, head back to CA-99 North and fol­low about 8.5 miles until you see mul­ti­ple signs on the road­side. You’ll turn left into the Bock’s Fruit lot.

Sip at Mug Shots Cof­fee House

Your first offi­cial Butte Coun­ty stop will be at Mug Shots Cof­fee House, one of Oroville’s best-loved cof­fee hang­outs in Down­town Oroville. They have a large offer­ing of deli­cious pas­tries and treats, fresh brews and mixed cof­fee drinks, and fan­tas­tic break­fasts and sand­wich­es. Check out the walls for up-and-com­ing artists’ work.

Get there: Take exit 47 to Mont­gomery Street. Take a right on Mont­gomery and con­tin­ue just past Myers Street, where you’ll see Mug Shots on the left.

Explore the Oroville Chi­nese Temple

Oroville has its own beau­ti­ful piece of Chi­nese-Amer­i­can his­to­ry at the Oroville Chi­nese Tem­ple. Not far from the bus­tle of down­town, this hid­den gem, which sits close by the Feath­er Riv­er, does occa­sion­al­ly wel­come wor­shipers who come through its doors, but it’s set up as a muse­um space that show­cas­es a ver­i­ta­ble trea­sure trove of Chi­nese-Amer­i­can and Butte Coun­ty his­to­ry, from tapes­tries, stat­u­ary, and peri­od cloth­ing, to a mock apothe­cary, arranged tem­ple rooms behind glass, and all man­ner of pho­tographs and phys­i­cal items of deep his­toric value.

Once you’re done explor­ing the tem­ple, head back across the street and walk or dri­ve east about half a block down. You’ll see a stair­case on the left that leads to the walk­ing paths next to the Feath­er Riv­er, which allow for a love­ly stroll either to Table Moun­tain Bridge if you con­tin­ue east, or to Bedrock Park and even­tu­al­ly River­bend Park if you head west.

Get there: From Mug Shots, fol­low Mont­gomery Street back to Pine Street, hang a right, and con­tin­ue for­ward until you see the tem­ple on the left-hand side of the street.

Union Restau­rant

Once you’ve had the chance to explore, it will be time for a well-earned feast at Union on Mont­gomery. One of Down­town Oroville’s hottest eater­ies, locat­ed con­ve­nient­ly right across from Mug Shots, you’ll expe­ri­ence a rich menu with must-try stand­outs like the Ital­ian crack bread or s’mores tow­er, a selec­tion of wines, beers, and stel­lar cock­tails to sat­is­fy any group, and some of the best out­door din­ing in the area.

Dine at Ethan’s Eatery

Grab break­fast at Ethan’s Eatery. Known for its hefty por­tions, no appetite will come away want­i­ng at Ethan’s Eatery. Try the eggs bene­dict, fan-favorite mimosa, or the loaded Bloody Mary with its tow­er­ing skew­er of good­ies (topped with a muffin!).

Get there: Exit left from the hotel to head east on Oro Dam Boule­vard until you reach Myers Street. Take a left to find the restau­rant on the right at the cor­ner of Myers and Mitchell.

Explore on Foot

The next stop on your trek should be a walk across Oroville Dam. Park­ing is avail­able at either end of the dam if you pre­fer a dri­ving tour, but for some light exer­cise and the best view, park at the east­ern end of the dam and walk across. As the tallest dam in the coun­try (yes, that’s true) you can appre­ci­ate impres­sive views of Lake Oroville and the town below, sit for a while if you want to take it easy, and read a few infor­ma­tion­al and com­mem­o­ra­tive plaques. If you dri­ve across the dam to the boat launch area, there are a few grassy spots with tables and seat­ing in addi­tion to pub­lic restrooms, and the near (east) side of the dam also has an over­look with even bet­ter views in addi­tion to its facilities.

For a more vig­or­ous walk, head to North Table Moun­tain Eco­log­i­cal Reserve. Cre­at­ed by ancient lava flows, the 3,300 acre eco­log­i­cal reserve is a sea­son­al mec­ca for spring wild­flower hunters and water­fall chasers. Though most pop­u­lar in spring, the views of the val­ley from here are stun­ning year round.

Take a Break at Rock House Din­ing & Espresso

Con­tin­ue your High­way 70 adven­ture by tak­ing lunch at Yan­kee Hill’s Rock House Din­ing & Espres­so, the last Butte Coun­ty des­ti­na­tion on the trip. Set on the side of the high­way amid the beau­ti­ful, rocky, and rugged land­scape that begins to stretch out as you head north, this is your last-chance option for a cof­fee or snack for a while. 

Get there: Head back to Mont­gomery and take CA-70 N to CA-70 E if you’re com­ing from Oroville Dam, or take Chero­kee Road to CA-70 E. Rock House will be on your left.

Explore Scenic Byway and Hot Springs

The Feath­er Riv­er Scenic Byway, the state’s first des­ig­nat­ed Wild and Scenic Riv­er, starts about 8 miles north of Oroville on High­way 70 and trav­els 130 miles west-east across Butte and Plumas coun­ties. From Rock House, con­tin­ue north on CA-70. The canyon por­tion of the byway winds through the Feath­er Riv­er Canyon and offers views of cas­cad­ing water­falls and wild­flow­ers in the spring and bril­liant fall col­ors in autumn. Out­door recre­ation in the forms of hik­ing, gold pan­ning, kayak­ing, and fish­ing can all be expe­ri­enced along your trek. 

After a leisure­ly trip and plen­ty of pic­ture-tak­ing, you’ll come to Feath­er Riv­er Hot Springs in Plumas Coun­ty, about 42 miles from Rock House. This rather infor­mal hot spring has 3 tubs fed by a nat­ur­al sul­phur spring right next to the riv­er. Reser­va­tions are required at least 24 hours before your arrival, so make sure to plan ahead, as this adven­ture­some spot is a per­fect stop for a recharg­ing rest as you make your way through one of the north state’s most beau­ti­ful drives.

Explore Quin­cy

For the last leg of the jour­ney, you’ll take CA-70 East anoth­er 14 miles to Quin­cy, which will become Cres­cent Street and inter­sect with Main Street in the cen­ter of town. Grab a bite and con­sid­er retir­ing to a local lodg­ing prop­er­ty for the night before con­tin­u­ing on your way.

Con­tin­ue the Adventure

Once you’re back on the road, you can take CA-70 East into Neva­da, even­tu­al­ly meet­ing up with US-395 South which will take you to Reno. Where your adven­tures take you from there is up to you, but we hope that your time in Butte Coun­ty will be a mem­o­rable part of your sto­ry when you get back home.