Bidwell Park not so big after all

Chicoans have been stripped of their Bidwell Park bragging rights, because as it turns out many were misinformed about its size all along.

The Trust for Public Land recently released City Park Facts 2010, an annual compilation of various city-park data for the 85 largest U.S. cities. While Chico is not one of those cities, Bidwell Park nevertheless figured into the report’s “80 Largest City Parks” list as the 26th largest in the U.S. Among the municipally owned parks on the list, however, Bidwell ranks relatively high at 14. (For the full report, log onto www.tpl.org/content_documents/CityParkFacts_2010.pdf)

Chugach State Park in Anchorage, Alaska, blew the rest of the parks out of the water at nearly 500,000 acres. Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso, Texas, came in second at almost 26,000 acres. Bidwell Park is 3,670 acres.