Off the Beaten Path: Five Unique Butte County Outdoor Activities

Kids and adults alike love adven­tures at Big Bald Rock. The giant gran­ite batholith fea­tures expan­sive views of Lake Oroville and the Sacra­men­to Val­ley, and plen­ty of room for explor­ing a unique, rocky terrain.

The near­by (and often con­fused with) Bald Rock Dome is a full dome with­out the crowds! This mas­sive gran­ite batholith near Berry Creek is a promi­nent fix­ture along the sky­line of cer­tain parts of Lake Oroville and is par­tic­u­lar­ly vis­i­ble from Feath­er Falls.

Dive right into Butte County’s gold-rush past by gold pan­ning at the Forks of Butte Creek Recre­ation Area. This beau­ti­ful­ly forest­ed area just north of Mag­a­lia is also good for scenic hik­ing and camp­ing if you’re look­ing for some­thing more traditional.

Dur­ing the sum­mer, the Fore­bay Aquat­ic Cen­ter hosts Full Moon Paddles, where you can watch the sun­set and the full moon rise while kayak­ing on the calm waters of the Ther­mal­i­to Fore­bay in Oroville. This is a great event for get­ting a dif­fer­ent per­spec­tive on a pop­u­lar water spot.

The Pacif­ic Crest Nation­al Scenic Trail spans 2,653 miles between the bor­ders of Mex­i­co and Cana­da, and in Butte Coun­ty, it’s clos­er than you think to take a walk on one of the world’s most famous long-dis­tance trails! You’ll find a 12-mile stretch of the famous PCT only one hour away from Chico, Par­adise, and Oroville.

Take a load off (lit­er­al­ly) with a late winter/​early spring hike through Upper Bid­well Park and oth­er Butte Coun­ty loca­tions with Hap­py Home­stead Lla­mas. Dur­ing these guid­ed hikes, lla­mas will car­ry your gear as you explore trails that fea­ture sweep­ing vis­tas, var­i­ous rock for­ma­tions, and spec­tac­u­lar views. And of course, you’ll have plen­ty of oppor­tu­ni­ties for lla­ma selfies.