Explore Upper Bidwell Park with Chico Beyond Adventure Guided Hikes

Whether you are look­ing for a quick sun­set vista or a stren­u­ous half-day chal­lenge, Chico Beyond Adven­ture offers a vari­ety of routes tai­lored to dif­fer­ent expe­ri­ence levels:

• Mon­key Face Loop (Easy to Mod­er­ate | 2 miles): The quin­tes­sen­tial Chico expe­ri­ence. This trip offers big views of the Sacra­men­to Val­ley from the top of the park’s most icon­ic rock formation.
• Alli­ga­tor Bluff (Easy to Mod­er­ate | 2 miles): A scenic jour­ney through a his­toric olive orchard and mossy canyon walls, end­ing in the oak­en grass­lands of the South Rim.
• Low­er Yahi Trail Loop (Easy to Mod­er­ate | 4.2 miles): A walk along the rush­ing waters of Big Chico Creek, pass­ing local favorite swim­ming holes like Alli­ga­tor Hole and Bear Hole.
• Annie Bid­well Out & Back (Mod­er­ate | 7 miles): A trek that show­cas­es some of the park’s best wild­flow­ers and access to hid­den water­falls dur­ing the rainy season.
• Red­bud Loop (Mod­er­ate to Dif­fi­cult | 3 miles): A loop that forces a steep climb up the North Rim for deep-canyon views that most casu­al vis­i­tors nev­er see.
• South Rim Loop (Dif­fi­cult | 2.9 miles): An adven­ture along the cliff-side scenery of the Guardian Trail, offer­ing dra­mat­ic per­spec­tives from Pere­grine Point.
• Deep Upper Park Loop (Dif­fi­cult | 5.2 miles): The ​“all-in” expe­ri­ence. This stren­u­ous hike cov­ers the wildest parts of the park, from Salmon Hole to the high­est points of the North Rim.

Upper Bid­well Park is beau­ti­ful but rugged. The ter­rain is often uneven and rocky, fea­tur­ing steep drop-offs at var­i­ous viewpoints.

• Dif­fi­cult Hikes: If you book a ​“Dif­fi­cult” rat­ed tour, be pre­pared for stren­u­ous climbs that may require using your hands for balance.
• Weath­er: Many Upper Park trails offer lim­it­ed shade; ear­ly morn­ing or sun­set hikes are rec­om­mend­ed dur­ing the warmer months.
• What to Bring:
  • Stur­dy hik­ing boots or shoes with good traction
  • Plen­ty of water, espe­cial­ly dur­ing the warmer months
  • A cam­era for those icon­ic vistas
  • A hat and sun­screen, as many Upper Park trails offer lim­it­ed shade

Jason Mand­ly is on a mis­sion to share his pas­sion for the rugged beau­ty of Bid­well Park. Before launch­ing Chico Beyond Adven­ture, Jason spent years high­light­ing the best of the North State as the host of our Butte Coun­ty Adven­tures series (watch them all here).

His exper­tise lit­er­al­ly helped shape the park; Jason worked with the City of Chico to design the offi­cial Bid­well Park maps found at trail­heads today.