Table Mountain Loop

A rem­nant of an ancient lava flow, the North Table Moun­tain Eco­log­i­cal Reserve tru­ly is table-like on top, with steep, ver­ti­cal cliffs at the edges that pro­duce unique water­falls in the ear­ly spring along with an abun­dance of wild­flow­ers, mak­ing the Table Moun­tain Loop one of the pret­ti­est rides around.

The loop is a road bike route that offers up between 50 – 60 miles of rolling ter­rain with a few sig­nif­i­cant climbs from Chico, or a short­er ride if you start and end in Oroville. The cen­tral fea­ture of the ride is the climb up to the beau­ti­ful table­top plateau of Table Mountain.

For this ride, start in Chico, ride south on the Mid­way Bike Path to Oroville Chico Hwy, then south to Pentz Rd. and west past Butte Col­lege to Hwy 70. At Hwy 70, make a left and trav­el up the hill for less than a mile to Chero­kee Rd. A chal­leng­ing climb takes you through the old town of Chero­kee and onwards to the top of Table Moun­tain prop­er. You will know when you get to the top — it is as flat as a table.

The con­tin­ued ride down to the out­skirts of Oroville can be dan­ger­ous for larg­er groups, (so they should climb up from the Oroville side and go down through Chero­kee) but for a sin­gle rid­er or small group who know the down­hill is chal­leng­ing, the Chero­kee-Oroville direc­tion is more satisfying.

Once at the end of Chero­kee Rd, make a right on Table Moun­tain Blvd. and fol­low it to its end. Make a right on Hwy 70 for a mile or so and make anoth­er right onto Coal Canyon Rd. This qui­et road ends up cross­ing Hwy 70 again in a cou­ple of miles and changes into Whee­lock Rd. which dead ends back into Durham-Pentz Rd. where a left turn takes you back to Butte Col­lege and ulti­mate­ly Chico.