Chico, CA

Chico sits 90 miles north of Sacramento on Highway 99, serving as Butte County's main city in California's northern Central Valley. Most visitors arrive via Highway 99 from the Bay Area or Sacramento, while Highway 32 cuts through downtown connecting the valley to the coast. The Mediterranean climate brings hot summers and mild winters, with cooling breezes from the nearby Sierra Nevada. Downtown centers around John Bidwell's 1860 plaza, where an enormous valley oak spreads its canopy wider than most buildings.