Bidwell Park

One of the largest munic­i­pal parks in the nation, Bid­well Park is an extra­or­di­nary land­scape filled with swim­ming holes, trails and pic­nic areas. Fam­i­lies will find paved bike trails through­out the park and moun­tain bik­ers can test their skills on the many inter­twined trails in the upper park.

Bid­well Park Sections

Bid­well Park is ​“divid­ed” by Man­zani­ta Avenue. 

The area west of Man­zani­ta is referred to as Low­er Park, and fea­tures flat and lev­el walk­ing areas with plen­ty of trees and shade.

The area east of Man­zani­ta Avenue is referred to as Mid­dle and Upper Park, which is notice­ably more rugged, with steep ter­rain and icon­ic rock formations.

Bid­well Park Recreation

Vis­i­tors can enjoy a vari­ety of recre­ation options in Bid­well Park, includ­ing hik­ing, bik­ing, swim­ming, and golf­ing, with Low­er Park great for casu­al adven­tures and Upper Park offer­ing more chal­leng­ing trails.

A Brief His­to­ry of Bid­well Park

In 1905, Annie Bid­well, wife of Chico found­ing father John Bid­well, donat­ed approx­i­mate­ly 2,500 acres of land to the City of Chico. 

With this ini­tial dona­tion, Bid­well Park was offi­cial­ly estab­lished. Since that time, the City has added to the park with addi­tion­al pur­chas­es, such as that of Cedar Grove in 1922 and anoth­er 1,200 acres of land south of Big Chico Creek in Upper Park in 1995.

Today, the park spans 3,670 acres — near­ly 11 miles — from Down­town Chico into the foothills of the Sier­ra Nevada.