Fre­quent­ly Asked Questions

Butte Coun­ty is in North­ern Cal­i­for­ni­a’s Shas­ta Cascade region.

It’s eas­i­ly acces­si­ble via High­ways 99 and 70, just 1.5 hours north of Sacra­men­to Inter­na­tion­al Air­port (SMF), 1.25 hours south­east of Red­ding Air­port (RDD), and 3.5 hours north­east of San Fran­cis­co Inter­na­tion­al Air­port (SFO).

Butte Coun­ty cov­ers 1,677 total square miles with a pop­u­la­tion den­si­ty of 124 peo­ple per square mile as of 2024. To put that in per­spec­tive, Sacra­men­to Coun­ty has 1,620 peo­ple per square mile in only 994 total square miles.

This means Butte Coun­ty offers a lot of space for res­i­dents and vis­i­tors alike to enjoy!

As of 2024 esti­mates, the total pop­u­la­tion across Butte Coun­ty was 208,334 people.

The largest city, Chico, is home to more than 49% of the coun­ty’s res­i­dents, with a pop­u­la­tion of 102,911.

Trav­el­ing to Butte Coun­ty is easy, whether by road trip or plane. Major high­ways 99, 70, and 32 pro­vide direct access to its cities and towns.

For those fly­ing, Sacra­men­to Inter­na­tion­al Air­port (SMF) or Red­ding Munic­i­pal Air­port (RDD) offer con­ve­nient options for a short­er dri­ve with a rental car.

“Butte” is pro­nounced like the first syl­la­ble in ​“beau­ti­ful” – ​“BUTTE-iful.

Butte Coun­ty includes four cities and one town, along with numer­ous cen­sus-des­ig­nat­ed places and unin­cor­po­rat­ed communities.

• Cities: Chico, Oroville, Gri­d­ley, and Biggs
• Town: Par­adise
• Cen­sus-Des­ig­nat­ed Places: Ban­gor, Berry Creek, Butte Creek Canyon, Butte Mead­ows, Butte Val­ley, Chero­kee, Clip­per Mills, Cohas­set, Con­cow, Durham, Forbestown, For­est Ranch, Hon­cut, Kel­ly Ridge, Mag­a­lia, Nord, Oroville East, Paler­mo, Racker­by, Rich­vale, Robin­son Mill, South Oroville, Stir­ling City, Ther­mal­i­to, and Yan­kee Hill
• Unin­cor­po­rat­ed Com­mu­ni­ties: Cen­ter­ville, Cres­ta, DeSabla, Dodge Place, Hell­town, Inskip, Irish Town, Jonesville, Lomo, Love­lock, Min­er­al Slide, and Powellton.

Yes, Butte Coun­ty always has engag­ing events!

Check our events cal­en­dar to dis­cov­er what’s hap­pen­ing while you’re in town, and find even more events list­ed on our full arts and enter­tain­ment cal­en­dar, But​te365​.com.

Chico, Butte Coun­ty’s vibrant urban cen­ter, offers diverse activities:

• Explore mas­sive Bid­well Park with its wood­land trails, urban swim­ming holes, golf course, and observatory.
• Immerse your­self in the city’s arts and cul­ture scene, fea­tur­ing muse­ums, live per­for­mance spaces, glass blow­ing stu­dios, and art galleries.
• Down­town Chico is the cul­tur­al hub for unique local din­ing, shop­ping, arts, and events.
• Enjoy tub­ing, kayak­ing, and river­side adven­tures along the Sacra­men­to Riv­er.
• Don’t miss the renowned local brew­eries, includ­ing Sier­ra Neva­da Brew­ery.
• Explore more to do in Chico.

For more infor­ma­tion about Chico busi­ness­es and attrac­tions, check out the web­sites of Down­town Chico Busi­ness Association, the City of Chico, and the Chico Cham­ber of Commerce.

Oroville serves as a gate­way to diverse out­door adventures.

• At its heart is Lake Oroville, offer­ing year-round water ski­ing, house boat­ing, kayak­ing, and fish­ing, along with unique float­ing campgrounds.
• Dis­cov­er sea­son­al water­falls on the North Table Moun­tain Eco­log­i­cal Reserve or the year-round beau­ty of Feath­er Falls, one of Cal­i­for­ni­a’s pret­ti­est waterfalls.
• The Feath­er Riv­er, near Down­town Oroville, pro­vides excel­lent kayak­ing and fish­ing, plus views of salmon and trout migra­tions at the near­by Fish Hatchery.
• Down­town Oroville fea­tures unique shops, restau­rants, his­to­ry muse­ums, and local winer­ies for exploration.
• Explore more to do in Oroville.

For more infor­ma­tion about Oroville busi­ness­es and attrac­tions, check out the web­sites for the Down­town Oroville Busi­ness Association, the City of Oroville web­site, and the Oroville Cham­ber of Commerce.

Par­adise and its sur­round­ing Ridge com­mu­ni­ties (includ­ing Mag­a­lia, Con­cow, Yan­kee Hill) offer ele­vat­ed adven­tures with­in pine tree forests.

• Explore beau­ti­ful nat­ur­al land­scapes like Par­adise Lake and Bille Park.
• Dis­cov­er annu­al events and muse­ums cel­e­brat­ing the region’s Gold Rush past, along with charm­ing antique shops, bou­tiques, and oth­er local busi­ness­es along the Sky­way.

For more infor­ma­tion about Par­adise Ridge busi­ness­es and attrac­tions, check out the web­sites for the Town of Paradise, the Par­adise Ridge Cham­ber of Commerce, and Wel­come to the Ridge.

Gri­d­ley, the gate­way to Butte Coun­ty on High­way 99, offers vis­i­tors a quaint down­town area fea­tur­ing his­toric build­ings, local­ly run shops, and a hyper-local his­to­ry muse­um show­cas­ing the deep com­mu­ni­ty roots.

• It’s also home to the coun­ty fair­grounds, which bus­tles with ener­gy every August dur­ing the annu­al coun­ty fair.
• In fall and win­ter, the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area is home to thou­sands of migra­to­ry birds, mak­ing it a per­fect spot for bird­ers and hunters.
• Neigh­bor­ing Big­gs is a small farm­ing com­mu­ni­ty sur­round­ed by rice fields and orchards and offers a quaint, qui­et life for its res­i­dents, with the main dri­ve B Street, lined with his­toric build­ings, busiest dur­ing the city’s annu­al 4^th of July celebration.

For more infor­ma­tion about Gri­d­ley and Big­gs busi­ness­es and attrac­tions, check out the web­sites for the City of Gridley, the City of Biggs, and the Gri­d­ley Area Cham­ber of Commerce.

Out­side of the main cities, you’ll find even more adven­tures in Butte County’s cen­sus des­ig­nat­ed places and unin­cor­po­rat­ed com­mu­ni­ties. Enjoy a laid-back day of wine tast­ing at one of the region’s two wine dis­tricts — either at the Durham Wine Dis­trict, just south of Chico, or the Ban­gor Wine & Spir­its Region, just south of Oroville. In the high coun­try — the area north of Paradise/​northeast of Chico, along High­way 32 — com­mu­ni­ties includ­ing Butte Mead­ows and Jonesville , turn into snow-cov­ered won­der­lands dur­ing win­ter and ear­ly fall. There, you can enjoy snow­mo­bil­ing, snow­shoe­ing, and cross-coun­try ski­ing. And through­out the coun­ty, you can dis­cov­er beau­ti­ful hid­den gems, if you’re just will­ing to explore, such as miles of rice fields in Rich­vale, one of the pret­ti­est parks in the coun­ty at Clotilde Mer­lo Park in Stir­ling City, miles of hik­ing and bik­ing trails, lakes and rivers, and more.

Beyond the main cities, Butte Coun­ty’s diverse com­mu­ni­ties offer unique adventures.

• Enjoy wine tast­ing in the Durham Wine Dis­trict (south of Chico) or the Ban­gor Wine & Spir­its Region (south of Oroville).
• In the high coun­try (north of Paradise/​northeast of Chico, via High­way 32), com­mu­ni­ties like Butte Mead­ows and Jonesville become win­ter won­der­lands for snow­mo­bil­ing, snow­shoe­ing, and cross-coun­try skiing.
• Through­out the coun­ty, dis­cov­er hid­den gems like Rich­vale’s rice fields, Stir­ling City’s beau­ti­ful park, his­toric cov­ered bridges in Ore­gon City, and count­less hik­ing and bik­ing trails, lakes, and rivers for explo­ration, Clotilde Mer­lo Park in Stir­ling City, his­toric cov­ered bridges in Ore­gon City, miles of hik­ing and bik­ing trails, lakes and rivers, and more.

Butte Coun­ty offers diverse and afford­able din­ing options across Chico, Oroville, Par­adise, Gri­d­ley, and Biggs.

• Dis­cov­er every­thing from con­ve­nient grab-and-go meals for trail adven­tures to leisure­ly farm-to-table experiences.
• Explore unique local restau­rants, din­ers, pubs, and eater­ies to suit any taste.
• Find more on our ded­i­cat­ed din­ing page.

Butte Coun­ty gen­er­al­ly expe­ri­ences sun­ny and dry weath­er year-round, ide­al for out­door activities.

• Sum­mers are hot and dry, autumns are warm, win­ters are mild, and springs are cool.
• Val­ley cities like Chico and Oroville are typ­i­cal­ly warmer than foothill areas like Paradise.
• High­er ele­va­tions, such as Butte Mead­ows and Jonesville, offer fun win­ter snow activities.

Butte Coun­ty pro­vides a wide range of accom­mo­da­tions, from pop­u­lar hotel brands and afford­able inde­pen­dent motels to grow­ing RV park options.

With near­ly 2,000 rooms avail­able, vis­i­tors can eas­i­ly find the per­fect place for their stay on our ded­i­cat­ed Stay page.

Butte Coun­ty is rich with unique sto­ries and his­tor­i­cal gems.

• Ghost Towns: The coun­ty is home to eight ghost towns: Bidwell’s Bar, Butte Creek, Cen­ter Ville, Couto­lenc, Dia­mondville, Forks of Butte Creek, Hamil­ton, and Lynchburg
• Film­ing Loca­tions: Butte Coun­ty has been a film site for sev­er­al movies and shows over the decades.
  • The icon­ic oak tree in Gone with the Wind was locat­ed in Butte Coun­ty; unfor­tu­nate­ly, it was destroyed in the 2018 Camp Fire. 
  • The cot­ton fields of Tara and the O’Hara’s first horse ride from Gone with the Wind were filmed in Chico and Par­adise Ridge locations.
  • Oth­er pro­duc­tions filmed here include The Adven­tures of Robin Hood (1938), Mag­ic Town (1947), The Out­law of Josey Wales (1976), Ruby Ridge: An Amer­i­can Tragedy (mini-series, 1996), George B. (1997), and Under Wraps (1997).
• His­toric Bridge: Oroville’s Bid­well Bar Bridge was the first sus­pen­sion bridge built west of the Mississippi.