Just Kidding Around: 16 Kid-Friendly Spots in Butte County

These attrac­tions are specif­i­cal­ly designed to spark the imag­i­na­tion and cre­ativ­i­ty of younger children.

Caper Acres has been delight­ing young chil­dren, and their par­ents, for generations.

Locat­ed at One Mile Recre­ation Area in Bid­well Park, this expan­sive fairy­tale-themed play­ground for chil­dren 12 and younger includes fun fea­tures like a crooked house play struc­ture, cement cheese slide, pirate ship with sea mon­ster, Hump­ty Dump­ty sand­box, plen­ti­ful swings, and more. The play­ground is sur­round­ed by large oak trees, bench­es, and green space, per­fect for fam­i­ly pic­nics and outings.

If you’ve got young ones, this is a must-stop for families.

NOTE: Any­one over the age of 13 must be accom­pa­nied by a child under 13.

Expect to stay a cou­ple of hours at the Chico Children’s Muse­um, which is pri­mar­i­ly aimed at chil­dren aged 2 to 8. This enchant­i­ng muse­um inspires cre­ativ­i­ty, inves­ti­ga­tion, and learn­ing through play in diverse, hands-on environments.

Play areas: Explore a mini stage with cos­tumes, a make-believe farm, a two-sto­ry tree­house for read­ing, a space­ship com­mand cen­ter, and a camp­site with a kayak and tent.

Sen­so­ry Fun: Dis­cov­er a dim­ly lit sen­so­ry room, art sta­tions, and walls made of tape, Legos, and wind pipes.

Role Play: Kids can wear lab coats in the den­tal office and vet­eri­nary clin­ic, shop at the mar­ket, mail let­ters at the post office, and make food at the local café.

Just steps from Chico Creek in Bid­well Park, the Chico Creek Nature Center fea­tures a Liv­ing Ani­mal Muse­um (LAM), where kids can learn more about small ani­mals, such as bun­nies, tur­tles, lizards, and more. Those under 10 will have an espe­cial­ly good time.

Play Area: The cen­ter includes a nature play­room with books and toys and a small climb­ing wall.

Out­door Fun: On the grounds, look for a nat­ur­al teeter-tot­ter, a fort-build­ing area, and Chico Creek just steps away.

These des­ti­na­tions offer enter­tain­ment for tod­dlers up to teenagers and super­vis­ing adults.

Gri­d­ley’s Back in Time Arcade II is a fam­i­ly-owned arcade that is per­fect for a nos­tal­gic night out.

Only open on Fri­day evenings, with free play for $10 per per­son, the whole fam­i­ly will love the clas­sic arcade games, Skee-Ball, air hock­ey, and more.

For those inter­est­ed in avi­a­tion and the mag­ic of flight, the Chico Air Muse­um is a must-see. The muse­um is locat­ed near the Chico Munic­i­pal Air­port and housed in a WWII hangar.

Exhibits: Vis­i­tors can climb into the cock­pit of an air­craft, view mil­i­tary and civil­ian planes, and exam­ine avi­a­tion arti­facts and photos.

Docents: Knowl­edge­able docents (many of them for­mer pilots) are ready to share inter­est­ing flight sto­ries and the his­to­ry and sci­ence of aviation.

Out­door Dis­play: Head out­side to see an impres­sive dis­play of jet and pro­peller-dri­ven air­craft, and pos­si­bly wit­ness take­offs and landings.

Lit­tle Pilots: There is an area for lit­tle ones to pilot their own ped­al-oper­at­ed mini planes.

The Gate­way Sci­ence Muse­um is hands-on insti­tu­tion where kids and fam­i­lies can learn, build, and exper­i­ment with all areas of sci­en­tif­ic dis­cov­ery. A part­ner­ship between Chico State and the com­mu­ni­ty, this small but engag­ing muse­um is an easy walk from Downtown.

Exhibits: Enjoy rotat­ing exhibits with inter­ac­tive activ­i­ties, inves­ti­ga­tion sta­tion events, and dis­cov­ery camps.

Past Top­ics: Exhib­it top­ics have ranged from bats, bears, and brains to sus­tain­abil­i­ty and aero­space. Check the web­site to see what’s cur­rent­ly fea­tured.

Gate­way Gar­dens: Any time of year, explore the onsite gar­dens, where you can learn about native pol­li­na­tors, California’s unique cli­mate, and the ecol­o­gy that makes the regions so special. 

Head to Kid­dos Play­place in Chico for year-round fam­i­ly excite­ment. This indoor facil­i­ty offers a mas­sive mul­ti-lev­el play­ground, guar­an­tee­ing a per­fect active escape from either the rain or sum­mer heat.

Mul­ti-Lev­el Play­ground: Big enough to enter­tain every mem­ber of the family.

Tod­dler Zone: Ded­i­cat­ed soft spaces ensure safe fun for the lit­tlest fam­i­ly members.

Arcade & Kitchen: Fea­tures a mod­ern arcade and an on-site kitchen for con­ve­nient snacks and meals.

Par­ents Lounge: Adults can relax in the ded­i­cat­ed lounge, which even serves beer and wine (for those 21+) while the kids play.

Kids will love learn­ing all there is to know about yo-yos and more at the Nation­al Yo-Yo Muse­um in Down­town Chico.

Col­lec­tions: The muse­um fea­tures the world’s largest pub­lic dis­play of yo-yos and yo-yo mem­o­ra­bil­ia, includ­ing ​“Big-Yo,” a mas­sive, work­ing 256-pound wood yo-yo.

Activ­i­ties: Dis­cov­er thou­sands of yo-yos on dis­play and watch videos of con­test performances.

Lessons: Get a free les­son if you vis­it on a Sat­ur­day from Noon to 2pm.

Loca­tion: The muse­um is locat­ed inside Bird in Hand, which also offers fun edu­ca­tion­al toys, games, cloth­ing, and house­wares. In Octo­ber, watch top per­form­ers com­pete at the Nation­al Yo-Yo contest.

Enjoy a safe, fun, and excit­ing fam­i­ly-friend­ly night at Par­adise Play­di­um, an enter­tain­ment facil­i­ty in Par­adise. Throw axes, hit the arcade, play an epic game of laser tag, or even immerse your­self in 360-degree vir­tu­al real­i­ty games.

Rare Air, a tram­po­line park in Chico, allows kids of all ages to lit­er­al­ly bounce off the walls year-round.

Main Courts: Kids can jump, flip, and fly through a matrix of open-jump tram­po­lines, par­tic­i­pate in dodge­ball and bal­ance games, and enjoy an airbag pit and slam dunk court.

Junior Court: Small­er guests can safe­ly jump in a des­ig­nat­ed junior court area.

Ameni­ties: Board games, drinks, and snacks are available.

Require­ments: Rare socks are required ($3 to pur­chase, reusable). Check the web­site for details about waivers, prices, fam­i­ly nights, tod­dler time, and sea­son­al camps.

These spots make the most of Butte Coun­ty’s beau­ti­ful out­doors and mild weather.

In the fall, kids will love get­ting up-close and per­son­al with migrat­ing salmon at the Feath­er Riv­er Fish Hatch­ery view­ing win­dows in Oroville.

Hun­dreds of fish swim in the Feath­er Riv­er and make their way up the fish lad­der to the hatch­ery. The obser­va­tion plat­form is also a great place for spot­ting jump­ing fish in the river.

Every day is a fun day at the Fore­bay Aquat­ic Cen­ter in Oroville, where you can rent kayaks, stand-up pad­dle­boards, hydro­bikes, and more through­out the summer.

You can also get on the water with guid­ed salmon kayak­ing tours dur­ing the fall migra­tion and full-moon pad­dles on select nights in the summer.

Even though it’s only 13 acres, the Manuel Vier­ra Park in Gri­d­ley packs in a lot of action.

Sum­mer Attrac­tion: The water tow­er splash pad is the main attrac­tion dur­ing the summer.

Year-Round Play: A large vari­ety of play­ground equip­ment and struc­tures keeps kids play­ing year-round.

Ameni­ties: You’ll find lots of room here for pic­nick­ing, bar­be­cues, and even birth­day parties.

Pack your swim­suit, fris­bee, beach chair, and pic­nic bas­ket, and enjoy a scenic day at Oroville’s River­bend Park. Just min­utes from Down­town Oroville, this beau­ti­ful 210-acre park is sit­u­at­ed along the Feath­er River and offers:

Recre­ation: Green spaces, paved trails, a sandy beach, boat dock, and fish­ing ponds. A disc golf course and dog park are also at the park. Dur­ing the salmon sea­son each fall, kids and fam­i­lies will mar­vel at the hun­dreds of fish swim­ming in the river.

Ameni­ties: Four large pavil­ions (avail­able for reser­va­tion) offer bar­be­cue pits and seating.

Kids Activ­i­ties: Kids will enjoy the play struc­ture area, catch­ing craw­dads, skip­ping stones, and splash­ing in the riv­er along the sandy beach.

A day out isn’t com­plete with­out a treat! These spots are local favorites for sweets and dessert.

After din­ner, head over to Shubert’s Ice Cream & Can­dy for a clas­sic Chico tra­di­tion. Shubert’s has been mak­ing its ice cream and can­dies using local ingre­di­ents and sea­son­al fruit since open­ing in Down­town Chico in 1938.

Awards: Their sig­na­ture Chico Mint ice cream was once vot­ed the No. 2 ice cream in the nation by Good Morn­ing America.

Local Favorites: Pop­u­lar fla­vors include Mount Shas­ta (choco­late, coconut, and marsh­mal­low), Tur­tle (caramel, pecans, and choco­late), and lemon custard.

Menu: Choose from 30 ice cream fla­vors (includ­ing dairy-free options), or order a sun­dae, shake, freeze, malt, or brown cow.

Con­fec­tions: Try their deli­cious house-made con­fec­tions, includ­ing choco­late tur­tles, peanut brit­tle, sea salt caramels, and mints.

A trip inside Sweet Chico Con­fec­tions feels like step­ping into a won­der­land. This col­or­ful can­dy shop is packed with near­ly 5,000 dif­fer­ent sweets, gifts, and nos­tal­gic toys that are sure to delight chil­dren and evoke sweet mem­o­ries for adults.

Enjoy a creamy, hand-craft­ed gela­to, treat your­self to a fresh spe­cial­ty choco­late, and comb the aisles for new or old-time favorite confections.