Bidwell Park is the City of Chico's main recreation area. At over 3600 acres and ten miles long there is a lot of land to explore. It is divided into 3 distinct yet contiguous sections.
The Upper Park: Chico Creek, Rocks and Blue Oaks.
The Upper Park is in the foothills of the Cascade Range or Sierra Nevada Mountains. To the left you can see boulders of lovejoy basalt which would argue for the Cascades. The vegetation, however tends to argue for the foothills of the Sierra. You choose, it is claimed by both.
The Middle Park. Live Oaks and open spaces.
The Lower Park. Valley Oaks and flat land.
Lower Bidwell Park
A branch shed from one of the large Valley Oaks.
Fungi on the above branch after a light rain.
Leaves pretending they are flowers.
A Scrub Jay watching me intently.
An early blossoming tree.
Almond Blossom. Almond trees have escaped the confines of the orchard and are thriving here and there in the park.
I don't blame them.
Redbud and Oaks.
After a mile or so, the foliage begins to change.
Ancient Sycamores and their Nazgul stand watch.
Over ghouls in their roots.
Above, the Coast Redwoods watch over all.
These were planted by Chico's founder John Bidwell in the 1800's.
The Middle Park
Open Space , Live Oaks, flowers and movies. Huh?
Riding a horse is a joy, or so I'm told.
A horse show practice area.
It was in the Middle Park that they made the 1937 classic movie
The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Errol Flynn. It is perfect for camping, though not allowed now.
A camp for Robin Hood? No one now knows exactly where it was.
Horseshoe Lake.
Great for watching the Mallards.
Or wildflowers.
Or rocks with messages.
Upper Bidwell Park
The upper park is known for its many Blue Oaks, wildflowers, swimming holes, and poison oak.
The Blue Oaks are just beginning to leaf out as of the 15th of March.
A turtle climbing a log to get a bit of sun.
Driftwood piled up on the boulders 15 feet above the creek.
White Leaved Manzanita bells.
California Bay Laurel.
Sky Lupine.
Redbud with new leaves against a Digger Pine.
A Blue Oak on the edge of the canyon.
Blue Oak leaves.
California Pipevine.
Blue Dicks. A closeup.
Poison Oak: Virulent, aggressive and it's out to get you. Memorize this photo.
Bidwell Park was established in 1905 by Annie Bidwell, the widow of Chico's founder, John Bidwell.
If you would like to visit Bidwell Park, It is easy to get to Chico and to find the park. It's 90 miles north of Sacramento, CA on Highway 99.
The best time to come to Chico if you want to see Bidwell Park at its peak is March and April. After that, most of the flowers go to seed, and the grass turns brown. Summers are hot, typically 95-105 through September. Cool and wet weather returns in October.
That's the story in pictures of Bidwell Park from late January to mid March. Thanks for looking.
For more information see The Friends of Bidwell Park page or Wikipedia's Bidwell Park page.