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Paradise and The Ridge: An Afternoon Itinerary

Paradise sits on the ridge above Chico, about 25 minutes up the hill by road, and the town is rebuilding after the 2018 Camp Fire. This afternoon plan visits the Depot Museum, two town parks and Paradise Lake, all run by local museum and park groups.

Checked October 29, 2026

  • 1 dayin this plan
  • 5stops, in order
  • 58 minroad time in all, without traffic
  • 3 h 45 mintime at stops, our estimate

No car? B-Line Route 41 runs from the downtown Chico transit center to the Paradise Transit Center and Magalia on weekdays and Saturdays; regional fare is $3. The Town of Paradise posts its recovery plan at paradiseca.gov.

Paradise and The Ridge

Day at a glance: 3 h 45 min at stops plus 58 min on the road = 4 h 43 min, starting 11:40 a.m. and finishing about 4:23 p.m.

  1. 1Downtown ChicoEssential

    Arrive about 11:40 a.m. (our estimate). Start or finish point.

    Start and finish downtown; fill the tank before the canyon. Place page.

  2. About 24 min and 14.5 miles by road from the last stop.

  3. 2Paradise Depot MuseumEssential

    Arrive about 12:04 p.m. (our estimate). 60 min here (our estimate).

    Posted hours Thursday to Monday, noon to 4 p.m., in Paradise Community Park, 5570 Black Olive Drive. Place page.

    Dogs: Rules not published.

  4. Close by: about 2 min and 0.7 miles by road.

  5. 3Terry Ashe Recreation CenterOptional

    Arrive about 1:06 p.m. (our estimate). 30 min here (our estimate).

    Gazebo under tall pines and a pollinator garden, 6626 Skyway.

    Dogs: Rules not published.

  6. About 5 min and 1.2 miles by road from the last stop.

  7. 4Bille ParkEssential

    Arrive about 1:41 p.m. (our estimate). 45 min here (our estimate).

    A redwood grove at 501 Bille Road.

    Dogs: Rules not published.

  8. About 27 min and 10.2 miles by road from the last stop.

  9. 5Paradise LakeEssential

    Arrive about 2:53 p.m. (our estimate). 90 min here (our estimate).

    Closed Wednesdays. Day pass sold at the lake; paddling and small boats with electric trolling motors only; no swimming. Place page.

    Dogs: No dogs or horses: the lake is a drinking-water supply.

The Depot Museum and the Terry Ashe Recreation Center are under a mile apart by road.

Map of This Trip

5 of 5 stops are pinned, numbered in plan order. Pins come from OpenStreetMap points for each named place and are not verified entrances or parking areas. Tap a pin for directions. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

If It Rains or a Stop Is Closed

  • Paradise Lake is closed on Wednesdays, and the Depot Museum posts Thursday to Monday hours, so Thursday to Monday works best.
  • In wet weather, spend longer at the Depot Museum.

How We Timed This

Road times and miles come from OpenStreetMap routing between the stops in this order. They do not include live traffic, road work, closures or parking. Arrival times assume the start time shown, and the minutes at each stop are our own planning estimates, not the operators’. Hours are checked against what each operator posts where we have them.

Events on These Dates

Nothing on our calendar for Paradise & The Ridge from today on yet. We only list a date once we have read it on the organizer’s own page, so here is what comes next. See every upcoming event.

  • Country Pumpkins: October Farm Season

    Runs Oct 1 to Oct 31, 2026

    10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

    Country Pumpkins, Orland

    Price: Free admission; corn maze $5, haunted maze $15

    Open daily in October with pumpkins, a petting zoo, hay pyramid and slide, and a daytime corn maze (last entry 5:30 PM). The Haunted Maze runs 7 to 10 PM on select nights, last night Friday, October 30; the farm is closed Halloween.

    Checked Oct 30, 2026 · Source for Country Pumpkins: October Farm Season (opens in a new tab)

What We Could Not Verify

  • Arrival times, minutes at each stop and the Essential or Optional labels are our estimates. Not confirmed
  • Road times exclude traffic, closures and parking. Not confirmed
  • The Depot Museum hours come from a page that also mentions its 2019 reopening; call before you go. Not confirmed
  • Paradise Lake day-pass prices are on the park district’s fee sheet, which we did not open. Not confirmed

More Plans

Sources

  1. Gold Nugget Museum, Depot Museum: https://www.goldnuggetmuseum.com/venue/depot-museum (checked October 29, 2026)
  2. Paradise Recreation and Park District, Paradise Lake: https://www.paradiseprpd.com/paradise-lake (checked October 29, 2026)
  3. Paradise Recreation and Park District, parks and facilities: https://www.paradiseprpd.com/parks-facilities (checked October 29, 2026)
  4. B-Line, Route 41: https://www.blinetransit.com/route-41-chico-paradise-magalia (checked October 29, 2026)
  5. Town of Paradise: https://www.paradiseca.gov/ (checked October 29, 2026)
  6. OpenStreetMap routing (OSRM) for road times: https://project-osrm.org/ (checked October 29, 2026)

Take This Trip With You

Stops in the order this page mentions them, with a driving route in Google Maps. Check hours on each place page first. How far is each stop from where you start? Try the drive-time table.

Open The Route In Google Maps

Trip Loop

Pick an itinerary and see its stops as a closed loop that ends where it starts. Distances are straight lines between pins and approximate; roads are longer. Open the loop in Google Maps for real driving directions.

Cite this page: It's Chico, “Paradise and The Ridge: An Afternoon Itinerary”, itschico.com/itineraries/paradise-and-the-ridge/ (updated ). By the It's Chico editorial team. Free to quote with attribution and a link to this page; data and tables are licensed CC BY 4.0.