Garden
Locals’ Secret: Where to Cut Your Own Christmas Tree in Oregon’s National Forests
- For years, my kids and I have been cutting down our own Christmas trees—from a national forest, no less.
- It’s been a beloved family tradition ever since we moved to Oregon and discovered that we could get a beautiful tree in the wild for only five bucks!
- And it’s not just the chopping-it-down part that’s special (although we love to yell “Tiiiimberrrr!” as we watch it go down), it’s also the memories made around the day: the smell of fresh evergreens, the snowshoe and cross-country ski adventures we tack on, the little treats we bring in the car, the impromptu sledding and snowball fights, and the dinners we always grab at our favorite restaurants on the way home.
- If you live in Oregon, cutting your own Christmas tree from one of the national forests here is a novel endeavor you must try at least once. And today, I’m going to spill a few secrets as to where, what, and how the best ways to go about it are.
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Is it legal to cut down a tree in Oregon?
- Waaait a minute… you mean you can just walk into a national forest and cut down any tree you want? Just like that?
- Yes, it’s true. Many people are surprised to learn that not only is it perfectly legal to chop down a holiday tree in Oregon, it’s actually encouraged and managed by the National Forest Service.
- Removing a tree to enjoy in your own home actually improves the overall health of the forest, as it helps allocate more sun, water, nutrients, and space to the rest of the trees. The U-cut program creates more favorable growing conditions in the national forests to ensure there will be harvestable trees in years to come.
- In short, cutting down a Christmas tree (and creating a fun tradition while doing so) is one small way you can contribute to forest restoration. Here in Central Oregon, the program also preserves our ponderosa forests by thinning out other species that threaten to take over.
- There are rules about where and how to cut down a tree properly (which I’ll get to below), but for the most part, you can take your pick of almost any tree under 12 feet tall in Oregon’s national forests.
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When do Christmas tree permits go on sale?
- Recreation.gov, National Forest Service offices, and participating brick-and-mortar vendors typically start selling Christmas Tree Permits for Oregon in mid-November.
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How much is a Christmas tree permit in Oregon?
- Each Oregon Christmas Tree Permit costs $5 (up to a maximum of five permits per household). If buying online through Recreation.gov, there’s a $2.50 convenience fee added per order.
- If you have a fourth- or fifth-grade student participating in the federal Every Kid Outdoors program, your family is eligible for a free tree permit.
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How to get an Oregon Christmas tree permit
- Before you head out, you’ll need to purchase an Oregon Christmas Tree Permit online, or from one of several brick-and-mortar vendors.
- You can buy up to five permits per household. Each permit is good for one tree, no matter the size. This is where most people can’t believe that a freshly cut Christmas tree can be had for only $5!
- To buy online, go to this page in Recreation.gov and type “Oregon” into the search box. A list of 12 national forests will pop up; select the one closest to you.
- Specify how many trees you’d like to cut, pay, and print your Christmas Tree Permit instantly.
- If you prefer to pick up the permit on your way to the forest, each Forest Service maintains a current list of all local vendors that sell tree permits. You can find one closest to you by selecting your forest district below:
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Rules for cutting a Christmas tree in a national forest
- While Oregon is fairly lax when it comes to harvesting Christmas trees in its national forests, it certainly doesn’t want people taking down trees all nilly-willy.
- So, the Forest Service has established a few ground rules:
- Don’t harvest trees within 150 feet of highways and developed areas, or within 300 feet of streams and other bodies of water
- Don’t harvest trees from private properties, young tree plantations, or designated wilderness areas
- Only cut a tree that’s within 20 feet of another one
- Don’t cut any tree taller than 12 feet (or 14 feet in Umatilla NF, 15 feet in Mt. Hood NF, 20 feet in Wallowa-Whitman NF)
- Don’t just take the top off a tree (you need to cut down the entire tree and take it with you)
- Cut the stump shorter than 12 inches
- Remove any branches from the stump and scatter them on the ground
- (Note: These regulations are current as of time of writing, but always check with your local forest district for changes and exceptions.)
- Ideally, you want to cut a tree from a densely forested area since it will help the forest thrive. When in doubt, follow the guidelines printed on the back of your tree permit. Please adhere to the rules to keep this lovely tradition going for future generations.
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Choosing a tree
- Although you can cut down a tree in many parts of Oregon, living in Bend, Oregon (where I am) has the advantage of being surrounded by national forest land.
- The town’s westernmost edge is bounded almost entirely by the Deschutes National Forest, an outdoor wonderland brimming with conifers of all types, depending on elevation.
- At lower elevations near Bend and Sisters, you’ll mostly see lodgepole pines and ponderosa pines. Some people even harvest juniper trees as a quirky Christmas tree alternative!
- Drive to higher elevations in the Cascades, and that’s where you’ll find the more coveted Douglas firs, white firs, incense cedars, and several types of spruces.
- If you live over the hill near Mt. Hood or Willamette National Forests, the most common varieties are noble, balsam, Douglas, and Pacific silver firs.
- Pro tip: When you’re out hiking in summer and spot a potential candidate for a Christmas tree, drop a pin or save the GPS coordinates on your phone. Then, you’ll know where to come back for your tree in winter! My husband and I also like to do this for potential new groves to explore that we’d otherwise miss when everything looks different under a blanket of snow.
- The Noble fir is the top Oregon Christmas tree species, and in fact, the stately 75-foot-tall Capitol Christmas Tree in 2018 was harvested from our very own Willamette NF.
- One thing to know when hunting for your tree is that you’re not likely to find the fully symmetrical A-line tree you’re used to buying. Commercially grown trees are pruned throughout their life cycle for shape and size, and grow into perfectly bushy holiday centerpieces with help from irrigation. In the wild, the perfect tree is hard to find.
- Related: Why Inner Conifer Needles Turn Yellow or Brown: An Evergreen Anomaly
- Conifers in a forest tend to have bald sides, can sometimes look a little scraggly, and aren’t always uniform in shape. Let’s just say… they tend to be more Charlie Brown, and less Hallmark card. But sometimes “almost perfect” turns into perfect when you consider the experience of it all.
- When you find a good candidate, be sure to view it from all angles to make sure you’re happy with how it looks. If a certain tree you love is a bit bare on one side but otherwise full and fluffy everywhere else, you can place it against a wall where no one will notice the missing branches.
