The Most Photo-Worthy Spots in Butte County

Span­ning Lake Oroville’s east­ern edge where the Mid­dle and South Forks of the Feath­er Riv­er meet, the Bid­well Bar Bridge offers stun­ning views from any angle. Whether you use it as a back­drop for your adven­tures on the lake, dri­ve across it for up-close views, or stop at the vista spot to take in the expan­sive lake scenery, the Bid­well Bar Bridge is a pho­to-wor­thy landmark.

If you vis­it Par­adise, you’ll want to make sure to stop at the Butte Creek Water­shed Over­look as you head down the Sky­way. Some­times sim­ply referred to as the Par­adise over­look or vista stop, the Butte Creek Water­shed Over­look offers a sweep­ing view of a ​“mini Grand Canyon.” Ear­ly morn­ing and near sun­set are par­tic­u­lar­ly beau­ti­ful times, but any time is a good time to take in the views.

The Chico Seed Orchard (or The Tree Farm, as many locals know it) is a 209-acre botan­i­cal gem, filled with a vari­ety of species of plants. A part of the Men­do­ci­no Nation­al For­est, the Seed Orchard focus­es on pro­duc­ing seed trees for projects such as refor­esta­tion and wild­fire recov­ery — and for vis­i­tors, this means a lush back­drop for pho­tos. It’s an espe­cial­ly pho­to-wor­thy spot in the fall, and you’ll find it a pop­u­lar loca­tion for cou­ple and fam­i­ly photos.

The sec­ond-old­est school in the Cal­i­for­nia State Uni­ver­si­ty sys­tem is one of the pret­ti­est! The entire Chico State cam­pus is a des­ig­nat­ed arbore­tum (with over 200 species of woody plants and trees plant­ed), fea­tures a rose gar­den, Big Chico Creek, a vari­ety of on-cam­pus sculp­tures, and icon­ic and his­toric build­ings — includ­ing the pic­turesque Kendall Hall. With 123 beau­ti­ful acres to explore, you can spend a whole day fill­ing up your cam­era with share­able photos.

Tucked away in his­toric Stir­ling City, Clotilde Mer­lo Park is one of the pret­ti­est parks in all of Butte Coun­ty. Sit­ting at 3,500 feet in ele­va­tion, the 20-acre, pri­vate­ly owned park fea­tures a forest­ed atmos­phere with wind­ing board­walks and foot­paths. Snap a pho­to or two at one of three large ponds, in front of the sur­round­ing for­est, or among orna­men­tal trees and flow­ers. Open May through Octo­ber, Thurs­day through Sun­day, Clotilde Mer­lo Park is worth plan­ning a trip for.

A hub of din­ing, shop­ping, and events, Down­town Chico is also home to plen­ty of pho­to-wor­thy spots. Clas­sic brick build­ings add to the over­all charm and beau­ty of the down­town land­scape, and you’ll also find a num­ber of murals, instal­la­tions, and sculp­tures — such as Our Hands — that make for per­fect back­drops and subjects.

Cov­er­ing 9,100 acres and home to more than 300 species of res­i­dent and migrant birds and mam­mals, nature enthu­si­asts will love pho­tograph­ing the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area in Gri­d­ley. The fall and win­ter sea­sons are espe­cial­ly great ones to vis­it, as Gray Lodge fills with thou­sands of migrat­ing birds — with two trails to explore, ducks blinds, and high-pow­ered tele­scopes on an obser­va­tion deck, it’s easy to get your per­fect shot.

Whether you’re tak­ing pic­tures of it or from it, Mon­key Face in Chico’s Upper Bid­well Park will serve up beau­ti­ful views. From the ground, the icon­ic rock for­ma­tion looks to have the appear­ance of a bridged brow over two eyes, sim­i­lar to a monkey’s. From the top, you’ll enjoy a sweep­ing vista over­look­ing Bid­well Park. Enjoy a sun­set hike for a beau­ti­ful gold­en hour glow in your photos.

North Table Moun­tain Eco­log­i­cal Reserve—more sim­ply known as Table Moun­tain — always ends up on ​“best of” lists, and for good rea­son! Dur­ing the rainy sea­son, this pop­u­lar Oroville spot flows with up to 14 water­falls, and in the spring, is cov­ered in wild­flow­ers. It’s easy to get beau­ti­ful pho­tos here — just make sure to do your part to help pro­tect the reserve by stay­ing on estab­lished trails, not pick­ing the flow­ers, and buy­ing your CDFW lands pass before you visit.

A his­toric land­mark con­struct­ed in 1927, the Oroville State The­ater is a pho­to-wor­thy beau­ty inside and out. Inside, find restored his­toric murals from the 1920s and 1930s, art deco details in a nod to its past, and even a Wurl­itzer pipe organ. Out­side, find an ele­gant blend of mod­ern and vin­tage with the theater’s dig­i­tal mar­quee styled after the mar­quee the one from the 1930s. At night, the mar­quee shines bright in Down­town Oroville and is a great time for a pho­to stop.

A small reser­voir actu­al­ly locat­ed in Mag­a­lia, Par­adise Lake is all that its name implies. The calm water is sur­round­ed by beau­ti­ful wood­ed land, with miles of shore­line and trails to explore. Enjoy a qui­et shore­side hike or calm kayak pad­dle on the water cap­tur­ing pho­tos any time of year.

Span­ning the Feath­er Riv­er near Down­town Oroville, the his­toric, now pedes­tri­an-only Table Moun­tain Bridge, built in 1907, is worth a walk over. You can use it to get from Down­town Oroville to the Feath­er Riv­er Fish Hatch­ery—two pho­to-wor­thy spots in their own right — and also get beau­ti­ful shots of the Feath­er Riv­er. For land­scape pho­tog­ra­phers, cap­ture beau­ti­ful shots of the bridge from the near­by Feath­er Riv­er Nature Cen­ter.

One of the first rivers to be offi­cial­ly des­ig­nat­ed as Wild and Scenic, the Feath­er Riv­er Canyon is worth the dri­ve alone. Trav­el­ing 60 miles west-east across Butte and Plumas coun­ties along the North Fork Feath­er Riv­er, few Cal­i­for­nia high­ways fea­ture such nat­ur­al beau­ty and diver­si­ty in ter­rain, land­scape, wildlife, and ele­va­tion as the Canyon por­tion of Feath­er Riv­er Scenic Byway. Cap­ture images of spring water­falls and wild­flow­ers, bril­liant fall foliage, and a vari­ety of his­toric bridges.