Discover Chico Charm: Small City, Big Experiences in Northern California

At the heart of the city is Cal­i­for­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty, Chico. Found­ed in 1887 as a small teach­ers’ school, Chico State is the sec­ond-old­est insti­tu­tion in the CSU sys­tem, and has not only giv­en Chico a homey rep­u­ta­tion as a true col­lege town, but itself has blos­somed into one of the finest pub­lic uni­ver­si­ties in the coun­try, espe­cial­ly as an option for the North State. Its 119-acre cam­pus is a rec­og­nized arbore­tum, tru­ly fit­ting for ​“the City of Trees.” 

Bid­well Park, a sprawl­ing munic­i­pal park that cov­ers near­ly 3,700 acres of diverse topog­ra­phy, is the town’s nat­ur­al crown jew­el, and over the years has undoubt­ed­ly shaped the locals’ inher­ent love of the out­doors. It’s a com­mon sight to see stu­dents and res­i­dents alike cruis­ing down­town on foot or by bike, tra­vers­ing the neigh­bor­hood or head­ing for a shad­ed ride in Low­er Bid­well and Mid­dle Bid­well Park.

Of course, no vis­it to Chico would be com­plete with­out expe­ri­enc­ing the renowned Sier­ra Neva­da Brew­ery. Estab­lished in Chico, Sier­ra Neva­da has gained glob­al recog­ni­tion as a bea­con of craft beer excel­lence. Vis­i­tors can embark on a brew­ery tour, savor an array of inno­v­a­tive brews, and immerse them­selves in the live­ly atmos­phere that has made Sier­ra Neva­da a des­ti­na­tion of choice for beer enthu­si­asts worldwide.

Because of the university’s pres­ence with­in the heart of Chico’s down­town, that area is the eco­nom­ic, urban, and cul­tur­al hub of the coun­ty. Full of local shops, small busi­ness­es, a vari­ety of eater­ies from many dif­fer­ent eth­nic and cul­tur­al back­grounds, and prime per­for­mance areas for live music, niche cin­e­ma, and the­ater, Down­town Chico has a dis­tinct­ly dif­fer­ent feel from just about any­where else in the North State, espe­cial­ly in Butte Coun­ty. In recent years, with the tech­no­log­i­cal advances the inter­net has pro­vid­ed, many star­tups and entre­pre­neurs are find­ing that Chico is an ide­al place to find good peo­ple and grow a busi­ness with­out the rat-race lifestyle found in big­ger cities.

But Chico, with a pop­u­la­tion or more than 100,000, remains an agri­cul­tur­al town at heart, with its Bid­well roots firm­ly ground­ed. John and Annie plant­ed trees all over the city, and that spir­it of nat­ur­al rev­er­ence has per­sist­ed ever since; tru­ly, it’s baked into the city’s per­son­al­i­ty (just ask any­body who cruis­es the Esplanade in the fall as part of their dai­ly work commute).

How­ev­er, the agri­cul­tur­al lifestyle is real­ly preva­lent to the south in Durham, a small farm town just min­utes out­side of Chico. Not with­out its own charms, Durham is agri­cul­tur­al land dot­ted with large home­steads, and it’s not out of the ordi­nary for Chicoans seek­ing a rur­al break to poke around some of the more seclud­ed Durham winer­ies and din­ers in search of even qui­eter experience.

In Butte Coun­ty, nowhere else feels as ​‘city’ as Chico. With its diverse dis­tricts offer­ing var­i­ous expe­ri­ences, Chico seam­less­ly com­bines com­merce, cul­ture, edu­ca­tion, and diver­si­ty, mak­ing it a unique and wel­com­ing blend of urban and rur­al life.