Chico on Two Wheels: A Growing Home for BMX, Cycling and Skateboarding
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Chico on Two Wheels: A Growing Home for BMX, Cycling and Skateboarding
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Chico, California, has always been an outdoor town. Between Bidwell Park, miles of bicycle paths, mountain biking trails and a remarkably active cycling community, bicycles have been part of Chico's personality for generations.
Now that cycling culture is getting an impressive new addition: the Chico Bike Park, a six-acre bicycle recreation facility currently under construction on Humboldt Road. Add Chico Velo, BMX racing, the existing Wildwood Pump Track and Chico's skateboard park, and our community is developing an unusually diverse collection of recreational facilities for people who prefer getting around on wheels.
The New Chico Bike Park Is Taking Shape
Perhaps the most exciting development is the new Chico Bike Park, being constructed on Humboldt Road between Forest Avenue and Notre Dame Boulevard, adjacent to Marsh Junior High School.
This isn't simply another bicycle path or a traditional BMX track. It is being designed as a six-acre destination bicycle park where beginning riders, children and experienced cyclists can all find something appropriate to their abilities.
Construction officially began with a groundbreaking in July 2025. By late 2025, major portions of the pump track and jump lines were taking shape. CARD's latest project information now estimates completion in fall 2026, while Chico Velo's project page lists a tentative November 2026 grand opening. As with any construction project, that schedule could change.
The facility is planned to include multiple bike trails and riding features, including jumps, banked corners, gaps and a pump track. Its progressive design is particularly important: riders won't have to be experts to use it. Different areas are intended to allow beginners to develop their skills before progressing to more technically demanding features.
The park is also being developed as a place for families and spectators. Plans include a custom playground, spectator areas, rentable picnic sites and on-site parking.
That makes the project much more than a BMX course. It has the potential to become another genuine Chico recreational destination.
Chico Velo: A Big Part of Chico's Bicycle Culture
One of the organizations helping make the Bike Park possible is Chico Velo, working in partnership with the Chico Area Recreation & Park District (CARD) and with support from the Lupine Legacy Foundation.
For longtime Chico residents, the Chico Velo name is hardly new. The organization has played an important role in building the area's bicycling culture, bringing cyclists together and encouraging everything from recreational riding to major organized cycling events.
The new Bike Park seems like a natural extension of that tradition. It gives younger riders an opportunity to develop skills while providing experienced cyclists with a dedicated facility in which they can practice and challenge themselves.
It also complements something Chico already possesses in abundance: places to actually ride a bicycle.
From the relatively gentle routes through Lower Bidwell Park to the much more challenging terrain of Upper Park, Chico provides opportunities ranging from family bicycle rides to serious mountain biking.
BMX Racing Has a Long History in Chico
Chico's connection to BMX isn't beginning with the new Bike Park.
Silver Dollar Bmx has served Chico and the surrounding Butte County community for approximately three decades. The volunteer-run nonprofit is sanctioned through USA BMX and has provided BMX opportunities for riders ranging from beginners to competitors who participate at the state, national and even world level.
BMX—or Bicycle Motocross—is different from simply riding around a pump track. BMX racing puts riders together on a purpose-built course featuring turns, jumps and elevation changes, combining bicycle handling with speed and competition.
Interestingly, Silver Dollar BMX has also pursued plans for a new world-class BMX facility in North Chico, near Chico Regional Airport. Plans described by the organization envision a racing track with two starting hills for different skill levels, followed eventually by a paved pump track that could serve the wider community.
That project should not be confused with the CARD/Chico Velo Bike Park on Humboldt Road. They are separate projects, illustrating just how much cycling activity is happening around Chico.
The Wildwood Pump Track
Chico riders already have another place to develop their bicycle-handling skills: the Wildwood Pump Track at 100 Wildwood Avenue, inside Veterans Memorial Park, formerly known as Wildwood Park.
A pump track is a looping course of rollers and banked turns. Instead of relying primarily on pedaling, riders learn to generate and maintain speed by moving—or "pumping"—their bodies and bicycles through the contours of the track.
CARD completed a renovation of the Wildwood pump track in October 2022 with help from Silver Dollar BMX, Chico Velo and the Active 20-30 Club of Chico.
Its location is especially fitting because it sits near the gateway to Upper Bidwell Park, one of Chico's premier areas for mountain biking and outdoor recreation.
Don't Forget Chico's Skateboard Park
Bicyclists aren't the only ones with a dedicated place to practice their skills.
Chico also has the Humboldt Avenue Skate Park, located at 371 Humboldt Avenue and operated by CARD. The facility has been expanded over the years and includes a larger bowl along with street-style features.
The park gives local skateboarders a dedicated recreational facility and has also hosted instructional programs such as skate camps. CARD has described its improvements as part of an effort to help Chico become a Northern California destination for recreational skateboarding.
Another Reason Chico Is a Great Outdoor Community
What makes all of this particularly interesting isn't any single facility. It's the combination.
Chico has Bidwell Park. We have miles of bicycle paths. We have road cyclists, mountain bikers, BMX racers and casual family riders. We have Chico Velo, Silver Dollar BMX, the Wildwood Pump Track and a dedicated skateboard park.
And now we're adding a six-acre, purpose-built bicycle park.
For families considering Chico, these amenities matter. Parks, trails and recreational facilities contribute to quality of life, give young people healthy activities and provide residents with reasons to get outdoors.
They can also add to a community's overall desirability. People don't choose a community based solely on the house they purchase. They choose the lifestyle that surrounds that house.
Chico has always had an advantage in that department, particularly because of Bidwell Park. The new Chico Bike Park adds another piece to that outdoor lifestyle.
When it opens, it should give Chico riders—from a child developing confidence on two wheels to an experienced cyclist flying through a technical jump line—another reason to get outside and ride.
And in a town that has loved bicycles for a very long time, that seems like a perfect fit.
