Trail Guide – Bidwell Park – Chico California

Bidwell Park

Established in 1905 Bidwell Park is one of the largest city parks in the United States. With about 3,670 acres of land and miles of sweet singletrack, Bidwell Park is a great weekend destination.

My Route:

GPS Route Download

Park Map

Stats:

• 13.7 miles, 1,900 feet of elevation gain

Parking:

• Wildwood Avenue, (North Entrance)
• Centennial Avenue, (South Entrance)
• Five Mile Recreation Area.

Water:

• Water can be found at the Horseshoe Lake parking lot and Five Mile.

Restrooms:

• There are restrooms at the Horseshoe Lake parking lot and Five Mile.

Post Ride:

• Sierra Nevada Brewery: The Taproom serves awesome food and beer. The brewery also offers tours every day of the week
• Taco Trucks: There are dozens of cheap taco trucks all around town. My personal favorites are
  • El Paisa on East 2nd Street and Nord Ave
  • Crazy Taco on East 12th Street and Park Avenue

Tips:

The trails in Bidwell are known for their chunky terrain. Although the trails are technical, they are still a blast and will leave you feeling more confident on easier terrain. I recommend a full suspension mountain bike and burly tires. If you’re riding here in the summer expect temperatures from 90-100+ degrees. Throughout the winter the riding is great. The dirt stays moist and typically its cool and sunny. However, after a large rain event, the trails are closed to mountain bikes. You can check the trail status at any time here.

There are plenty of other good trails to ride in the park. Middle Trail from the bottom of B-Trail is a great alteration to this ride. Another way to mix up this ride is to take Bloody Pin then Annie Bidwell back to the park entrance. If you’re looking for more straight descents, Humboldt, Bloody Pin, Maidu, and Live Oak are good trails to link into your ride.