The Best Things to Do in December in Butte County

Skate Under the Stars at Chico’s Ice Rink

A per­fect addi­tion to any hol­i­day get­away, Chico’s Ice Rink in the Plaza is a must-vis­it des­ti­na­tion in Decem­ber. Spend the day shop­ping and din­ing in Down­town Chico, then glide under the stars for a per­fect­ly fes­tive evening.

Explore Sea­son­al Water­falls & Win­ter Hik­ing Trails

Butte Coun­ty is a year-round hik­ing des­ti­na­tion. Despite the chill­i­er tem­per­a­tures and pos­si­bil­i­ty of rain, win­ter hik­ing reveals a dra­mat­i­cal­ly dif­fer­ent, yet equal­ly beau­ti­ful side of the region.

Sea­son­al rains trig­ger stun­ning water­falls, and the North Table Moun­tain Eco­log­i­cal Reserve is the prime spot to explore — per­fect for those will­ing to brave a lit­tle mud in search of spec­tac­u­lar views.

Once the rain returns, the long-dry Phan­tom Falls comes back to life, and after heavy storms, you can dis­cov­er up to 14 water­falls flow­ing across the reserve. Decem­ber is ide­al for vis­i­tors look­ing for breath­tak­ing water flows and few oth­ers around.

Even Upper Bid­well Park holds its share of win­ter water­falls. Rain­wa­ter chan­nels through the Love­joy basalt rock for­ma­tions in the park, cre­at­ing a home for more remote, hid­den water­falls, like Love­joy Falls, that remain dry the rest of the year. 

Even with­out recent rain, Upper Park is great for win­ter hik­ing. Favorites like the Yahi Trail, North Rim, South Rim, and Mon­key Face offer phe­nom­e­nal views across miles of trails.

Win­ter Wildlife Watch­ing on the Pacif­ic Flyway

With a prime loca­tion along the Pacif­ic Fly­way, there’s no bet­ter time for bird­ing in Butte Coun­ty than in the win­ter. And there’s no bet­ter spot to wit­ness the beau­ty of win­ter wildlife at the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area in Gri­d­ley. Bun­dle up and bring your binoc­u­lars for a chilly yet reward­ing expe­ri­ence spot­ting migra­to­ry birds dur­ing their annu­al flight through Butte County.

Chico’s Llano Seco Unit is also a beau­ti­ful and tran­quil spot for easy bird watch­ing. With two obser­va­tion plat­forms along a half-mile walk­ing trail, you won’t have to work hard for the views.

Oth­er easy-to-access bird­ing loca­tions include the Chico Seed Orchard, Low­er Bid­well Park, and the Oroville Wildlife Area.

High Coun­try Fun: Easy Snow Day Escapes

With­in an hour or less from almost any­where in Butte Coun­ty, you can be enjoy­ing your own per­son­al snow day in the high country.

Once snow blan­kets the ground, Butte Mead­ows and Jonesville trans­form into a win­ter won­der­land, per­fect for snow­shoe­ing, snow­mo­bil­ing, sled­ding, snow­ball fights, or even cut­ting your own Christ­mas tree.

Bun­dle up and dri­ve up to the moun­tains for an easy day of snow, with plen­ty of time to return to town for din­ner, hol­i­day shop­ping, and evening events.

No Decem­ber vis­it is com­plete with­out sea­son­al fes­tiv­i­ties. Butte Coun­ty offers a robust sched­ule of events — be sure to expe­ri­ence one of our local com­mu­ni­ty cel­e­bra­tions to dis­cov­er what makes the hol­i­days so spe­cial here. 

Below are a few of our favorites; get all the details using our guide to hol­i­day events in Butte County.

Com­mu­ni­ty Celebrations

Gri­d­ley

Expe­ri­ence small-town hol­i­day charm at Gri­d­ley’s Win­ter Won­der­land Fes­ti­val on Wednes­day, Decem­ber 3, 2025. The event fea­tures local ven­dors, a tree light­ing, and the high­ly antic­i­pat­ed Parade of Lights.

Par­adise

Sat­ur­day, Decem­ber 6, 2025, is the day to cel­e­brate sea­son­al spir­it in Par­adise with an all-day hol­i­day craft fair, the Tiny Voic­es choir, Santa’s arrival, the tree light­ing, and the pop­u­lar Light­ed Truck Parade.

Big­gs

On Sun­day, Decem­ber 7, 2025, small-town cheer takes cen­ter stage in Big­gs for their annu­al Tree Light­ing Cer­e­mo­ny and Christ­mas Mar­ket, com­plete with a fes­tive street mar­ket and self­ies with Santa.

Chico

The streets of Down­town Chico will be filled with rev­el­ers for the Chico Com­mu­ni­ty Tree Light­ing on Decem­ber 5, 2025. Enjoy live music, per­for­mances, a vis­it from San­ta, and shop your favorite local boutiques.

Step back in time at the Stans­bury Home Vic­to­ri­an Christ­mas, from Decem­ber 5 – 7, 2025. This his­toric Vic­to­ri­an man­sion opens its doors for a clas­sic tra­di­tion; explore the beau­ti­ful­ly dec­o­rat­ed inte­ri­or, lis­ten to live car­ol­ers, and warm up with home­made treats.

Oroville

Pre­pare to be daz­zled at the Lights of Hope, a free out­door light walk dis­play. Run­ning for 18 nights start­ing Decem­ber 4, 2025, the event fea­tures hun­dreds of thou­sands of lights, a sled­ding hill, self­ie stops, and inflat­a­bles for the kids.

Join the com­mu­ni­ty spir­it at the Down­town Oroville Com­mu­ni­ty Christ­mas Tree Light­ing on Fri­day, Decem­ber 5, 2025. High­lights include car­riage rides, free face paint­ing, pho­tos with San­ta, local hol­i­day shop­ping, and the fes­tive tree light­ing ceremony.

The streets of Down­town Oroville shine bright dur­ing the annu­al Parade of Lights on Sat­ur­day, Decem­ber 13, 2025. Bun­dle up to enjoy the ​“Christ­mas at the Movies”-themed parade as bright­ly dec­o­rat­ed vehi­cles cruise through the his­toric downtown.

Local Hol­i­day The­ater Performances

Cel­e­brate the sea­son while stay­ing nice and cozy with a live per­for­mance at one of Butte County’s local theaters.

At Chico State’s Lax­son Audi­to­ri­um, the fam­i­ly favorite A Very Chico Nut­crack­er adds a home­town spin to the hol­i­day favorite from Decem­ber 4 – 7, 2025.

At the near­by First Street The­ater, the heart­warm­ing A Char­lie Brown Christ­mas graces the stage from Decem­ber 4 – 14, 2025 on select dates. 

And on Decem­ber 6, 2025, the Oroville State The­ater opens its doors for the annu­al ​“Ring­ing in the Christ­mas Sea­son” com­mu­ni­ty con­cert. The the­ater also offers hol­i­day screen­ings on select week­ends, includ­ing It’s a Won­der­ful Life, a spe­cial show­ing of Polar Express, and var­i­ous oth­er local performances.

Sea­son­al Sips at Butte Coun­ty Cof­fee Shops

Whether you are crav­ing the per­fect local­ly made pep­per­mint mocha, some­thing sea­son­al but unique, or just need a cozy spot for a break, a Butte Coun­ty cof­fee shop is the answer.

In Par­adise, cozy up on a couch at Lofi Café with a pep­per­mint mocha or their fan favorite but­ter­scotch lat­te after a day explor­ing The Ridge.

Oroville’s Mug Shots Cof­fee House always fea­tures a wide range of sea­son­al cof­fee fla­vors and sweet treats inside their cozy, brick-lined café, while the near­by Union Cof­fee Club serves more non-tra­di­tion­al and tea-for­ward sea­son­al flavors.

Chico offers a cof­fee shop for every pref­er­ence. Veg­ans will appre­ci­ate Ten­der Lov­ing Cof­fee​’s cru­el­ty-free menu, while the Creek­side Café and Mer­can­tile is per­fect for those seek­ing a clas­sic neigh­bor­hood feel.

In Down­town Chico, Sto­ble offers rooftop views along with sea­son­al fla­vors, like its pop­u­lar maple pecan and hot choco­late. And tea fans have to stop at the Chico Chai House for a cup of its sig­na­ture chai or sea­son­al Hol­i­day Cocoa Mint tea blend.

Hearty & Com­fort­ing Win­ter Din­ing Options

While we love adven­tur­ing out­side no mat­ter the weath­er, some­times the day calls for stay­ing in and keep­ing warm. When the weath­er out­side is fright­ful, a warm plate is that much more delight­ful. Here are a few deli­cious options in Butte Coun­ty for a hearty dish that will warm you from the inside out:

For fla­vor­ful Thai and south­east Asian-inspired dish­es, Thai food enthu­si­asts will find deli­cious options at Coco­dine Thai Cui­sine in Chico, Phở Noo­dle House in Oroville, and Authen­tic Thai Cui­sine in Paradise.

For Indi­an fla­vors, Priya Indi­an Cui­sine in Chico serves North and South Indi­an cui­sine sure to sat­is­fy any crav­ing on the cold­est of days, while Sofi’z Kitchen and Bar in Down­town Chico dish­es out deli­cious Pak­istani com­fort food that is hand­made by Sofi herself.

Near­by, The Allies Pub invites guests on a tour of Eng­lish-inspired fare, fea­tur­ing stout ales and rich British pub food, like bangers and mash and savory pasties that are per­fect­ly enjoyed inside their inti­mate pub.

And in Gri­d­ley, the long­time favorite Casa Lupe Mex­i­can Restau­rant will warm you up with fresh tor­tillas, hand­made dai­ly tamales, and siz­zling fajitas.

Butte County’s blend of nat­ur­al beau­ty, fes­tive com­mu­ni­ty events, and unique local din­ing cre­ates the per­fect, cozy back­drop for your hol­i­day season.

So pack your lay­ers, grab your mit­tens, and let the warmth of our local tra­di­tions turn the chilly days of Decem­ber into your favorite win­ter getaway.