Beat the Heat: Three Fun Ways to Stay Cool in Butte County

One of the sim­plest and most enjoy­able ways to cool down is by indulging in some refresh­ing treats, and Butte Coun­ty has plen­ty of options to sat­is­fy your crav­ings.

Few things beat a frozen bite on a swel­ter­ing day, and you’ll find no short­age of options this sum­mer. Fans of a clas­sic scoop should check out Shubert’s Ice Cream & Can­dy and Savor Ice Cream in Chico. Sweet Chico Con­fec­tions serves up deca­dent gela­to, while La Flor De Michoa­can offers a range of non-dairy pale­tas (Mex­i­can pop­si­cles) in addi­tion to dairy-based ice creams. What­ev­er you choose, these sweet treats will help you beat the heat.

For adult bev­er­ages, flights at Sier­ra Neva­da Brew­ing Co.’s icon­ic (and air-con­di­tioned) tap­room are a must. Craft your per­fect flight from their line­up of beers on tap, or try one of their non-alco­holic offer­ings. You’ll find more zero-proof options at a vari­ety of cock­tail bars and restau­rants, includ­ing Roselle’s Bar & Lounge, Strong Water, and Crush, per­fect for a more hydrat­ing-yet-still-adult drink­ing experience.

If you’re more inter­est­ed in drinks to-go, grab an iced cof­fee from one of Butte County’s favorite local cof­fee shops and bak­eries, includ­ing Mug Shots Cof­fee House in Oroville and Chico’s Tin Roof Bak­ery & Café, Day Camp Cof­fee, and the veg­an-for­ward Ten­der Lov­ing Cof­fee. Look­ing for caf­feine-free options? Boba shops, such as Shake Tea, Project Tea, and Boba Tea­Li­cious, are deli­cious alter­na­tives great for those swel­ter­ing sum­mer days.

When the sun is blaz­ing, some­times the best way to stay cool is to head indoors to take for air-con­di­tioned activities.

Make it a chill (fig­u­ra­tive­ly and metaphor­i­cal­ly) out­ing with a leisure­ly stroll through one of your favorite Butte Coun­ty muse­ums or gal­leries. The Muse­um of North­ern Cal­i­for­nia Art (mon­ca) in Chico fea­tures rotat­ing exhibits from tal­ent­ed region­al artists, while the remote Stir­ling City His­tor­i­cal Soci­ety Muse­um is per­fect for road trip enthu­si­asts look­ing to escape into high­er ele­va­tions (make sure to vis­it the near­by Clotilde Mer­lo Park!). And at the inti­mate 1078 Gallery, you can take in the lat­est micro-exhib­it while sip­ping on an iced cof­fee from the on-site Equi­lat­er­al Cof­fee.

For those look­ing to keep the youngest mem­bers in their fam­i­ly engaged, head to the Chico Chil­dren’s Muse­um or the Gate­way Sci­ence Muse­um for a day of inter­ac­tive and edu­ca­tion­al fun. If you have mem­bers of the fam­i­ly with a lot of ener­gy to get out, bounce around at Rare Air Tram­po­line Park or rock climb at the Ter­rain Park Climb­ing Cen­ter. And for more retro out­ings, check out Par­adise Playdium, where you’ll find more than just arcade games, or lace up, get active, and stay cool at Cal Skate in Chico.

Cool­ing off is more fun with friends, so grab your besties and try your hand at axe throw­ing at The Hatch­et House, hit some pins at Bowlero, or live out your pop star dreams at Karaōke Tele­vi­sion in one of their pri­vate rooms. Feel the need to com­pete while stay­ing cool? Test your knowl­edge and have a blast at a local triv­ia night, includ­ing reg­u­lar events at Sto­ble, Farm­ers Brew­ing Restau­rant & Tap­room, and The Com­mons Social Empouri­um. Or grab your favorite read­ing bud­dy and spend a few hours brows­ing the stacks togeth­er at The Book­store, Chico’s favorite used book­store right in the heart of Down­town Chico.

Of course, catch­ing a flick on the big screen is a clas­sic sum­mer beat-the-heat activ­i­ty. The Oroville State The­ater fea­tures Sat­ur­day mat­inée show­ings of clas­sic and kid-friend­ly movies, while Chico’s Pageant The­atre show­cas­es a slate of more eccen­tric and inde­pen­dent options. Pre­fer live per­for­mances? Enjoy your pick of live music events at a vari­ety of local venues and bars, includ­ing The Win­ches­ter Goose, Lost on Main, and Argus Bar + Patio.

If you’re ready to brave the heat, you’ll find plen­ty of spots to make a splash!

Jump­ing into a swim­ming hole in Bid­well Park or tub­ing down the Sacra­men­to Riv­er are sum­mer favorites for a rea­son, with Bear Hole and The Washout pop­u­lar spots for loung­ing and splash­ing around. In Oroville, find sandy shores at River­bend Park, where you can swim in the cool waters of the Feath­er Riv­er, and the Ther­mal­i­to Fore­bay, where can swim and kayak all day long.

Tamer yet just-as-cool adven­tures can be had at local pools across the coun­ty, with Dive in Movie night at Aquat­ic Park Pool in Par­adise and Movies at the Pool at Chico’s Pleas­ant Val­ley Pool. Have kids that can’t swim yet? Bring them to Chico’s Chap­man Park or Nel­son Pool in Oroville, where they can cool off on fun splash pads.

And if you want to stay dry but just have to get out­side no mat­ter the weath­er, head to Butte Mead­ows, where it’s always at least 10 degrees cool­er than the val­ley below, and have fun explor­ing its trails — and don’t for­get to stop at The Bam­bi Inn before you leave.

No mat­ter how high the tem­per­a­tures rise, Butte Coun­ty has plen­ty of options to help you stay cool and have fun, so stay cool, stay safe, and enjoy all that Butte Coun­ty has to offer this summer!