Chico (California)

Chico is in Butte County in California. Chico is the cultural and economic center of the northern Sacramento Valley, as well as the largest city in California north of Sacramento. The city is known as a college town, as the home of California State University, Chico, and for Bidwell Park, one of the largest urban parks in the world.

Understand

Get in

By train
See also: Rail travel in the United States

Amtrak makes a once-daily stop in Chico at the 🌍 Chico Station at 450 Orange St on Orange and W 5th St with the following:

By car

Chico straddles SR 99, and is also accessible via SR 32 east of Orland at Exit #619 off Interstate 5 (I-5).

By bus
  • Greyhound, Chico Bus Station, 450 Orange St #2 (the bus boards in the corner lot in front of the train station nearest to the Orange/W 5th St intersection), ☏ +1 530-343-8266, toll-free: +1 800 231-2222. Greyhound travels along I-5/SR-99 between Portland and Sacramento via Salem, Corvallis, Eugene, Roseburg, Grants Pass, Medford, Weed, Redding, Chico, Oroville, and/or Marysville. Passengers transfer buses in Medford, Redding, Sacramento or Los Angeles to reach additional destinations. Some of the buses are direct between Redding and Sacramento. Check schedules. (updated Mar 2024)

By plane

The nearest international airport is in Sacramento (SMF IATA) located 90 mi (140 km) to the south. Chico also hosts a general aviation airport known as the 🌍 Chico Regional Airport (CIC  IATA) four miles north of the city.

Get around

Ride a bike. One of the best bike friendly towns around, the locals and students prefer to bike around it.

Taxis are prolific and cheap, and must be called to your location to pick you up.

The bus transit system, the B-line, will take you most places around the city at an hourly rate.

See

Do
  • 🌍 Bidwell Park, 1968 East 8th St (Chico Creek Nature Center), ☏ +1 530-891-4671, fax: +1 530 891-0837. America's seventh largest municipal park offers hiking, biking, swimming, and numerous other options for outdoor recreation. The lower section of the park begins near Highway 99 and extends north-east through the city and continues five miles into the foothills north of the city. 

Buy
  • Bird in Hand, 320 Broadway St, ☏ +1 530-893-0545. Selling a wide range of products, from Tommy Bahama to toys. Also has a Yo-yo museum, which houses the world's largest wooden yo-yo. 

Eat
  • 🌍 Aca Taco, 133 Broadway St, ☏ +1 530-894-0191. Aca Taco is one of the most popular late-night treats in Chico. Their popular buritos are a perfect adendum to a night well spent. (updated Oct 2016)
  • 🌍 5th Street Steakhouse, 345 West Fifth St, ☏ +1 530-891-6328. An expensive fine dinner restaurant, this small but divine steakhouse is known as much for its extensive wine cellar as it is for its steaks. (updated Oct 2016)
  • Italian Cottage, 2234 Esplanade. Awesome breakfast omelettes, especially the spicy Italian one with marinara sauce, melted cheese, sausage, and pepperoni. 
  • 🌍 Morning Thunder Cafe, 352 Vallombrosa Ave, ☏ +1 530-342-9717. Large portions and voted Best Breakfast of Chico for many years by vote in the local newspaper The Chico News and Review. They have a different flavor muffin everyday, and the muffins are recommended when the meal comes with a choice of bread. Breakfast potatoes can be made extra crispy if you ask and are particularly good if you do so. (updated Oct 2016)
  • Nobby's, 1444 Park Ave, ☏ +1 530-342-2285. Popular burger joint. Burgers can come with a crispy cheese skirt. Outdoor seating is available and preferable on a nice day since the inside can be a little cramped. 
  • 🌍 Red Tavern, 1250 Esplanade, ☏ +1 530-894-3463. Expertly made, California-cuisine style meals. Reservations definitely needed on weekend nights. $15+. (updated Oct 2016)
  • Smokin' Mo's BBQ, 131 Broadway St, ☏ +1 530-891-6677. They offer tri-tip, chicken, pork, and ribs. You have 4 different sauces to choose from and you can take as much sauce from each type as you want. Its an order at the counter place. 
  • Sierra Nevada Taproom and Restaurant, 1075 E 20th St., ☏ +1 530-345-2739. Tu-Th 11AM-9PM; F Sa 11AM-10PM. This is one of Chico's landmark restaurants. Sierra Nevada Brewery has been a Chico icon since its founding in 1979. Chicoans take great pride in their local brewery and Sierra Nevada can be found all throughout the town. The accompanying taproom and restaurant is one of the most popular places to eat in Chico. Almost always filled to capacity, the wait can be long sometimes, but the prices are reasonable and the food is top tier. 
  • T. Bar and Fusion Cafe, 250 Vallombrosa Ave, ☏ +1 530-895-8100. California fusion cuisine and a wide variety of teas, the Chocolate Chai Frost being one of their most popular drinks. Although not stated on the menu any drink can be made into a frost, sparkling, etc. Just ask, for example, to turn a Strawberry Lime sparkling tea into a Strawberry Lime frost and they will be happy to oblige. 
  • 🌍 Woodstock's Pizza, 240 Main St, ☏ +1 530-893-1500, fax: +1 530 894-8156. The title of best pizza joint in Chico is a contentious one and no one faults Woodstock's for throwing their hat into the ring. The variety of options and the tasty desserts are the perfect fuel for a night of studying or a night on the town. (updated Jan 2018)

Drink
  • 🌍 Joe's Bar, 749 West 5th St, ☏ +1 530-894-3612. Sawdust on the floor, music blaring, cheap drinks, a back patio, and a crowd that will be singing along after midnight. (updated Oct 2016)
  • 🌍 Madison Bear Garden, 316 W 2nd St, ☏ +1 530-891-1639. "The Bear" as it is locally known is a favorite of the students of CSU Chico. A variety of burger variations is enough to keep any student sated for years. For the particularly adventurous the Jiffy Burger (a hamburger with peanut butter!) is a must. At night the Bear transforms from a kitchy burger spot for locals to a late-night party with theme nights, contests, and music on the second floor into the wee hours of the morning. (updated Oct 2016)
  • 🌍 Sierra Nevada Brewery, 1075 E 20th St, ☏ +1 530-893-3520. Take a tour, try some of the best microbrew in the country. Privately owned, the brewery offers an alehouse with excellent food and good beer for around $2.50 a glass. Try the beer sampler. (updated Oct 2016)
  • 🌍 Panama's Bar and Cafe, 177 E 2nd St, ☏ +1 530-895-8817. A favorite of students this cafe-cum-bar is an energetic and vibrant club known almost as much for its dance floor as it is for its Long Island Iced Teas. The fun tropical theme and fun atmosphere makes a fun alternative to some of the larger bars in Chico. While not a gay bar, it does have a gay-friendly atmosphere. (updated Oct 2016)

Sleep

Budget

Mid-range

Splurge
  • 🌍 Hotel Diamond, 220 West 4th St, ☏ +1 530-893-3100. The original Diamond Hotel opened for business in 1904 as the "only strictly first-class house in Chico, and the superior of any North of Sacramento." A major fire in 1916 closed the doors. From the 1920s to the 1990s, the building was occupied by Chico State University students as dormitory or a low-cost hotel and eventually abandoned empty. The new Hotel Diamond opened its door in May 2005. (updated Oct 2016)

Go next
  • Gold Country - Where the formation of California really took place.
  • Mount Lassen - Excellent outdoor hiking and breathtaking scenery in the volcanic park about an hour and a half from Chico.
  • Oroville - Twenty minutes east of Chico is this town that has more history as a Gold Rush-era boom town.
  • Sacramento - About 1 hour and 45 minutes south of Chico and the capital of California.
Routes through Chico
Redding via ← Red Bluff ←  N  S  → Yuba City → Sacramento


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