Perfect Pairings: Your January Itinerary

Cel­e­brate the Snow Goose Festival

A win­ter high­light is the annu­al bird migra­tion along the Pacif­ic Fly­way, which starts in Novem­ber but peaks in Jan­u­ary. Hun­dreds of thou­sands of birds, includ­ing the beau­ti­ful snow goose, touch down in Butte County.

The best way to cel­e­brate is with the annu­al Snow Goose Festival, which runs the last Thurs­day – Sun­day in Jan­u­ary. The fes­ti­val fea­tures dozens of fun and edu­ca­tion­al field trips through­out the coun­ty and an avian-themed art exhib­it at the Muse­um of North­ern Cal­i­for­nia Art (mon­ca).

From all-day explo­rations to two-hour excur­sions, there’s an event for every type of visitor.

Whether you attend the fes­ti­val or go bird­ing on your own, this is a per­fect pair­ing with any­thing else you do in Jan­u­ary this month. Check the offi­cial Snow Goose Fes­ti­val web­site for the detailed itin­er­ary and to reg­is­ter for events.

Self-Guid­ed Bird­ing: If field trips are sold out, don’t wor­ry! You can still enjoy your own self-guid­ed tours at great bird watch­ing spots across Butte County.

End the Night With a Show

Make your night out a per­fect pair­ing by adding a cap­ti­vat­ing live per­for­mance from The­atre on the Ridge in Par­adise, the longest-run­ning com­mu­ni­ty the­ater in the North State. The inti­mate, 100-seat venue puts on pro­fes­sion­al-lev­el shows through­out the year and is a great way to end the night.

Enjoy a Snow Day in the High Country

An hour out­side of Chico, the high coun­try around Butte Mead­ows and Jonesville turns into a win­ter won­der­land (for a per­fect­ly paired snow day, vis­it both). If it’s been a par­tic­u­lar­ly wet win­ter, Jan­u­ary is the ide­al time to take a trip up to the mountains.

Activ­i­ties: From cross-coun­try ski­ing and hik­ing to snow­mo­bil­ing at Jonesville, be ready to take your own per­son­al snow day to enjoy the fresh­est snow­fall possible.

Explore Par­adise Ridge

From Butte Mead­ows, take the Sky­way into the town of Par­adise to explore its deep his­to­ry and nat­ur­al beau­ty, per­fect for cold weath­er explorations.

• Explore on Foot: Locat­ed in Mag­a­lia, Par­adise Lake is a post­card pic­ture of a serene forest­ed lake. Enjoy some of the best views of the water with an easy walk on the flat trail that bor­ders the water.
• Dis­cov­er His­to­ry: At the Gold Nugget Muse­um, learn about the impact of the Gold Rush in Par­adise and walk away with a bet­ter under­stand­ing of life in the 1850s. 
• Antique Shop ​‘Til You Drop: If you love hunt­ing for the per­fect antique find, Par­adise is your place. With shops like Trea­sures from Par­adise and the Sky­way Antique Mall, you could eas­i­ly spend hours search­ing for per­fect item for your home.
• Sat­is­fy Your Sweet Tooth: Before head­ing back down the hill, make sure to stop at Ridge-favorite Joy Lyn’s Can­dies for a sweet com­ple­ment to your dinner.

Dis­cov­er Nat­ur­al Beau­ty in Oroville

As the coun­ty seat, Oroville is packed with nat­ur­al beau­ty, par­tic­u­lar­ly the pop­u­lar Lake Oroville, and the fun does­n’t stop just because it’s winter.

At the Lake Oroville Vis­i­tor Cen­ter, you can enjoy a muse­um and exhibits about the lake, dam, and sur­round­ing areas. Make sure to climb atop the 47-foot tow­er to get a spec­tac­u­lar panoram­ic view of the lake and the Oroville Dam, which is the tallest earth­en dam in the country.

Play at the Adven­ture Center

If you have kids in tow and are look­ing for some­thing indoors but still active, be sure to take a few hours to play at the Ter­rain Park Adven­ture Cen­ter. With 12 new Auto Belay climb­ing lanes, a 3‑story play struc­ture, and a ded­i­cat­ed tod­dler play area, this will keep kids occu­pied for hours and help them burn energy.

Kick Off the New Year with a Craft Mocktail

While known as a craft beer des­ti­na­tion, Chico is also home to a grow­ing num­ber of loca­tions that offer deli­cious craft mock­tails, mak­ing it a great place to par­tic­i­pate in Dry Jan­u­ary or sim­ply enjoy some zero-proof drinks with friends.

Find great options at Roselle Bar & Lounge and Crush, for starters, or enjoy tast­ings at All the Bit­ter, Chico’s award-win­ning mak­ers of non-alco­holic bit­ters. More of a beer per­son? Crack open a (dry) cold one from Sier­ra Neva­da Brew­ing Co. with one of their non-alco­holic options.

Take a Hike

Just because Jan­u­ary is one of the wet­ter months in Butte Coun­ty doesn’t mean that it’s not a great time to get outside!

The beloved Bid­well Park is one of the best places to start — whether you explore Low­er Bid­well or Upper Bid­well, you’ll nev­er be far from Chico, just in case a rain cloud just hap­pens to roll through.

And if you’re look­ing for hikes beyond Chico, there are plen­ty of great win­ter hikes around the rest of the county.