Scenic Adventures in Oroville: A Two-Day Outdoor Itinerary

Morn­ing

Fuel up for the day with a pas­try and fresh­ly roast­ed cof­fee in his­toric Down­town Oroville at Mug Shots Cof­fee House so you can get in a full day of fun. 

Then make your way north­east to the Lake Oroville State Recre­ation Area, a Cal­i­for­nia State Park and home to Lake Oroville, California’s sec­ond-largest reser­voir. Rent a kayak or pad­dle­board at the Fore­bay Aquat­ic Cen­ter to explore the lake’s tran­quil waters, try your hand at bass fish­ing, or rent a boat and dis­cov­er the thrill of wake­board­ing and water skiing.

Lunch

Enjoy a lake­side meal at the Anchor Man­age­ment Bar & Grill at Bid­well Canyon Mari­na, where you can grab sand­wich­es and refresh­ments from the mari­na store, as well as take care of all your boat­ing rental or fish­ing needs.

After­noon

Explore the Brad Free­man Trail, pop­u­lar with both hik­ers and cyclists around Lake Oroville. This 41-mile offers a huge vari­ety of scenic vis­tas and day trip options for hik­ers and moun­tain bik­ers. The trail itself is as var­ied as the scenery — with a com­bi­na­tion of paved and unpaved sur­faces, railbeds and more. 

Din­ner

You’ll be hun­gry after that hike, and Oroville has no short­age of great din­ner options. We rec­om­mend grab­bing a hand-tossed piz­za and a craft beer from Feath­er Falls Brew­ing Com­pa­ny, inside the Feath­er Falls Casino.

Morn­ing

Start the sec­ond day of your adven­ture by hit­ting the dri­ve-through at Olson House Cof­fee for incred­i­ble cof­fee drinks and pastries. 

Then dri­ve about 20-min­utes north to vis­it the North Table Moun­tain Eco­log­i­cal Reserve, which is espe­cial­ly stun­ning in the win­ter with sea­son­al water­falls and in the spring with vibrant wild­flower blooms. Explore the easy trails and take in panoram­ic views of the val­ley below the moun­tain, an unusu­al geo­log­i­cal land­scape formed by ancient lava flows.

Lunch

Head back into Down­town Oroville for lunch at The Boss Burg­er, known for its local­ly raised beef. If you’re look­ing for some deli­cious veg­e­tar­i­an options, Phở Noo­dle House fea­tures a deli­cious menu of Thai and Viet­namese favorites.

After­noon

After your week­end of adven­tures, enjoy a leisure­ly after­noon explor­ing the Oroville Wildlife Area south of town. This pro­tect­ed region spans over 11,000 acres of ripar­i­an wood­land habi­tat along the Feath­er Riv­er and Ther­mal­i­to After­bay. It’s a pop­u­lar area for nature lovers to spot native species like deer, coy­otes, fox­es and many birds, from osprey to quail.

Din­ner

End your trip with a meal at Union, built on the foun­da­tion of the his­toric Union Hotel in Down­town Oroville. With an indoor-out­door bar and live music on the week­ends, it’s a live­ly and casu­al cap on a week­end of adventure.

Oroville’s nat­ur­al beau­ty and vari­ety of out­door activ­i­ties make it an unfor­get­table des­ti­na­tion for thrill seek­ers and bird watch­ers alike. With this itin­er­ary, you’ve only just begun to explore local options for hik­ing and bik­ing, water activ­i­ties, hunt­ing and fishing, and eques­tri­an riding.

Remem­ber to check with local nature author­i­ties for news of any clo­sures or sea­son­al infor­ma­tion before your trip, and have fun!