Day Trippin' › Northern California › From Chico
Chico has Bidwell Park's creek canyons in town, Oroville Dam half an hour away, the winter bird refuges at Gray Lodge and the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge within about an hour, and Lassen Volcanic National Park in reach for the day. The best day trips from Chico, by drive time.
55 places within a 3-hour drive, by real roads.
Wildlife · 46 min south
A Butte County wetland where the Sutter Buttes rise behind winter waterfowl, with a 3-mile auto loop and a raised viewing platform.
Dam · 33 min southeast
The tallest dam in the US, with a walk across the top and a visitor center tower at Kelly Ridge overlooking Lake Oroville.
Historic site · 1 hr 19 min southeast
One of California's richest hard-rock gold mines, with a stone owner's cottage, formal gardens and the old mine yard.
Historic site · 1 hr 25 min south
A riverfront district of Gold Rush and railroad-era buildings with wooden sidewalks, under Tower Bridge.
Historic site · 1 hr 55 min southeast
The place in Coloma where the 1848 gold find set off the Gold Rush, with a replica sawmill, a museum and gold panning on the American River.
Landmark · 1 hr 14 min northwest
A glass-decked footbridge over the Sacramento River in Redding that works as a giant sundial, linked to miles of river trails.
National park · 1 hr 20 min north
Boiling mud pots, steam vents, lava peaks and clear lakes along one scenic highway in one of the least crowded national parks.
Town · 1 hr 20 min southeast
The best-preserved Gold Rush downtown in the foothills, with gaslit streets and historic buildings, and Grass Valley next door.
Lake · 1 hr 32 min southeast
A big reservoir with beaches, bike paths and boating close to Sacramento; Beals Point and Granite Bay are the main beaches.
Trail · 1 hr 28 min north
A boardwalk across the park's largest geothermal basin of hissing vents, bubbling pools and blue-green water.
Town · 2 hr 8 min north
A small mountain town under the 14,000-foot volcano, where you can fill a bottle at the headwaters of the Sacramento River in City Park.
Waterfall · 2 hr 20 min north
A 129-foot curtain of spring-fed water pours over mossy basalt all year; many call it California's most beautiful waterfall.
State park · 2 hr 54 min southeast
Tahoe's most photographed view: a deep green bay with tiny Fannette Island, seen from the roadside overlooks on Highway 89.
Cave · 2 hr 1 min north
A self-guided walk through a lava tube about a third of a mile long, cool and pitch dark.
State park · 2 hr 14 min east
A museum on the Donner Party and the building of the transcontinental railroad, beside the Pioneer Monument and the shore of Donner Lake.
Historic site · 2 hr 15 min southeast
A huge flat marble outcrop pitted with more than a thousand Miwok grinding holes, with a rebuilt roundhouse village and a museum.
Scenic drive · 2 hr 21 min north
Drive the Everitt Memorial Highway up to about 7,000 feet for close-up views of Mount Shasta, with snow play in winter and trailheads in summer.
Wildlife · 3 hr southeast
A flat half-mile Rainbow Trail through meadow to an underground window into the creek, where red kokanee salmon spawn each fall.
Drive times are by road on a typical day from ZIP 95928 (OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner). Facts checked against official sites; passes and hours change, so check before you go.