Chico Outdoor Adventurer Hiking State & Regional Parks Trails

South Rim Trail

June 12, 2024 (Originally published February 23, 2021)
South Rim Upper Park
@noreliac

Hug­ging the south-east bor­der of Upper Bid­well Park, the South Rim Trail offers up big views of Big Chico Creek Canyon’s — you guessed it — south­ern rim.

Start­ing from the Chico Canyon Trail­head, you’ll hike about .7 miles on the Annie Bid­well Trail and then ascend over the rocky trail 1.7 miles to Pere­grine Point, where you’ll be able to take in the expan­sive vista and enjoy the down­hill return trip.

Mod­i­fi­ca­tion: To make it a lit­tle more chal­leng­ing, start at Pere­grine Point (and hike until you hit the Annie Bid­well Trail) so that you have to go uphill on the return trip. 

Key Info

Trail Dif­fi­cul­ty: Mod­er­ate

Trail Length & Type: 3.4 miles out-and-back (from Pere­grine Point park­ing area to Annie Bid­well Trail)

Best Used: Acces­si­ble year-round

Dogs: Allowed on leash

Trail Map: Upper Bid­well Park map

Dri­ving Directions

TO CHICO CANYON TRAIL­HEAD: From High­way 99 N, take exit 385 onto High­way 32 toward Chester/​Orland. Turn left onto Bruce Road and con­tin­ue onto Chico Canyon Road and after .3 miles, turn right to stay on Chico Canyon Road. Park in the grav­el park­ing area at the end of Chico Canyon Road on Cen­ten­ni­al Avenue, and the trail­head will be to your right.

TO PERE­GRINE POINT: From High­way 99, take the High­way 32 East exit. Dri­ve about 6 miles, pass the last light at Bruce Road and a park­ing area at Hum­boldt Road on the right. Look for a paved dirt entrance on the left, turn in, and park.