Highway 70 Road Trip: Shaped by the Feather River

Explore the Bok Kai Temple

Before cross­ing into Butte Coun­ty, stop in Marysville at the Bok Kai Temple. Built in 1880 and still used by the local com­mu­ni­ty today, this tem­ple was estab­lished to hon­or the Chi­nese God of the Water (Bok Eye) to pro­tect the city from the river’s floods.

• The Expe­ri­ence: Respect­ful­ly observe the iconog­ra­phy rep­re­sent­ing Bud­dhist, Con­fu­cian, and Daoist tra­di­tions along his­toric 1^st Street.
• Plan­ning Your Vis­it: The tem­ple grounds are open to the pub­lic, but the muse­um is by appoint­ment only. If you want to go inside, be sure to sched­ule your vis­it in advance. 
• Get­ting there: From Hwy 70 in Marysville, turn onto 1^st Street. The tem­ple sits behind an ornate arch­way at the cor­ner of 1^st and D streets.

Road­side Refresh­ments at Bock’s Fruit

A road­side sta­ple since 1967, Bock’s Fruit sits right on High­way 70. From spring through ear­ly fall, pull over for a huge vari­ety of fresh fruit, includ­ing their pop­u­lar peach­es, for a quin­tes­sen­tial Cal­i­for­nia road­side stop.

Local Brews at Mug Shots Cof­fee House

Your first offi­cial Butte Coun­ty stop is in Down­town Oroville. Mug Shots is a well-loved hang­out fea­tur­ing work from local artists, fresh brews, and a full menu of break­fast pas­tries, sand­wich­es, and sweets (includ­ing a must-try car­rot cake!).

Explore the Oroville Chi­nese Tem­ple and Museum

Sit­ting near the banks of the Feath­er Riv­er, the Oroville Chi­nese Tem­ple serves as a muse­um ded­i­cat­ed to the region’s Chi­nese-Amer­i­can heritage.

• The Col­lec­tion: Browse phys­i­cal his­to­ry rang­ing from elab­o­rate tapes­tries and peri­od cloth­ing to a mock apothecary.
• The Grounds: Enjoy a peace­ful gar­den fea­tures bam­boo plant­ed in the 1860s, bloom­ing lily pads in a koi pond, and a Pome­lo tree that fruits dur­ing Chi­nese New Year. 
• Riv­er Walk: After the tem­ple, walk east half a block to the stair­case lead­ing to the Feath­er Riv­er walk­ing paths. You can stroll east toward the Table Moun­tain Bridge or west into Bedrock Park.

Din­ner at Union

End your first day at Union on Mont­gomery Street. It’s one of Oroville’s most pop­u­lar spots for a rea­son, offer­ing some of the best out­door din­ing atmos­phere in the city.

Be sure to order the Ital­ian crack bread, a local must-try that per­fect­ly caps off your first day of exploration.

Break­fast at Ethan’s Eatery

Start the day at Ethan’s Eatery in Oroville. Known for gen­er­ous por­tions, it’s a favorite for its eggs bene­dict and loaded Bloody Marys.

Views from the Coun­try’s Tallest Dam

At 770 feet, the Oroville Dam is the tallest in the Unit­ed States. It offers a unique van­tage point to see both the scale of the lake and the expanse of the val­ley floor. 

• The Expe­ri­ence: Park at the east­ern end and walk across the crest for the best views of the Feath­er Riv­er con­tin­u­ing in the val­ley below. If you pre­fer to dri­ve, there’s anoth­er park­ing area at the west­ern end plus, just a lit­tle fur­ther away, a boat launch area with grassy pic­nic spots and pub­lic restrooms.

Option­al Detours

• Bid­well Bar Bridge: Hid­den from the main over­look by Kel­ly Ridge, this icon­ic sus­pen­sion bridge is less than 15 min­utes away. Vis­it the Bid­well Bar Vista Point to take in the views or walk across the bridge yourself. 
• North Table Moun­tain Eco­log­i­cal Reserve: For a more active morn­ing, head to the North Table Moun­tain Eco­log­i­cal Reserve. Cre­at­ed by ancient lava flows, this expanse is a pop­u­lar des­ti­na­tion for sea­son­al water­falls and some of the most spec­tac­u­lar wild­flower blooms in Cal­i­for­nia. If you plan to hike here, you’ll want to ded­i­cate the entire morn­ing to the trails to take in the views.

Enjoy a Scenic Stop at the Rock House

As the land­scape turns rugged in Yan­kee Hill, pull over at the his­toric Rock House. Orig­i­nal­ly built in 1937, the struc­ture fea­tures 18-inch-thick walls made of stone local­ly sourced via horse and wagon.

While no longer a din­ing des­ti­na­tion, the exte­ri­or rock walls remain an icon­ic road­side land­mark and a per­fect back­drop for a scenic photo.

Last Stop: Toni’s Burg­ers and More

Before the road winds deep into the canyon, grab lunch at Toni’s Burg­ers and More. It’s your last chance for food for a while. Dig into a Philly cheeses­teak while look­ing out at the canyon entrance. 

The Feath­er Riv­er Scenic Byway

North of Oroville, High­way 70 becomes the scenic Feath­er Riv­er Canyon. This was the state’s first des­ig­nat­ed Wild and Scenic Riv­er route.

• The Dri­ve: The road fol­lows the riv­er through a deep gran­ite canyon. Expect cas­cad­ing water­falls, bril­liant fall col­ors, and mas­sive rail­road bridges span­ning the water.
• Hot Springs: About 42 miles north of the Rock House, you’ll find the Feath­er Riv­er Hot Springs. This infor­mal spot fea­tures three tubs fed by nat­ur­al sul­fur springs right next to the river.
  • Note: Reser­va­tions are required 24 hours in advance, so make sure to call ahead.

Explore Quin­cy

For the final leg of this stretch, con­tin­ue anoth­er 14 miles east on CA-70 into Quin­cy. The high­way becomes Cres­cent Street before inter­sect­ing with Main Street in the cen­ter of town. 

Grab a bite at a local eatery and set­tle into a near­by lodge or inn for the night.

Con­tin­u­ing the Adventure

Once you’re back on the road, you can take CA-70 East into Neva­da, even­tu­al­ly meet­ing up with US-395 South which will take you to Reno.

Where your adven­tures take you from there is up to you, but we hope that your time in Butte Coun­ty will be a mem­o­rable part of your sto­ry when you get back home.