Top 4 Colorado Places to Chop Your Own Christmas Tree
December 1st, 2009 Categories: Life In Denver
Have you ever hiked into the woods in early December, trudging through several feet of snow to chop down your own Christmas tree?
Have you ever done it in tennis shoes?
I have, and my former father-in-law never failed to remind me that girls from California should seek footwear advice from a local before heading to the Rockies to chop down a tree in December. (Ex-father in law, you see.) He took great enjoyment from reminding me of that little faux pas.
Which is sort of like my father asking me if I remembered to turn on the oven whenever I’m cooking a turkey. Ha ha!
Colorado offers some lovely places to chop down your own tree. I’ve chosen the top 4 closest to Denver. Most are less than 2 hours away, many even closer. It’s really a treat to hike out into the forest, find just the right tree and haul it back to the car – only to discover that it’s actually 12 feet tall and your ceilings are 8 feet. Beware – the trees look a lot smaller in the forest than they do in your living room.
We went into the national forest at Red Feather Lakes to get our tree. That was fun, good for thinning the forests, and you get a really natural organic tree. Plus, the price is right! Typically $10 for a permit.
1. State and national forests:
Christmas tree permits, which allow you to cut your own Christmas tree on public lands, are now on sale at National Forest/BLM offices and some retail outlets. Permits come with a brochure, which explains regulations and offers helpful tips. National Forest/BLM offices also sell maps and offer free advice on the best areas for tree harvesting, and the best species of tree to cut.
- Denver & Front Range Areas: Four primary cutting areas along the Front Range in the Arapaho, Pike and Roosevelt National Forests serve metro Denver and surrounding communities. See their website for more information on permits, etc.
- Permits: $10 each. One tree per permit. Limit 5 permits per person. All sales are final.
Area Entry Hours: 8:30 am to 2:30 pm – For your safety, no entry is allowed before or after these hours.
2. Colorado state forests:
Christmas tree cutting permits at Golden Gate State Park - A limited number of permits are usually available for the Golden Gate Canyon State Park, just 30 minutes outside of the Denver metro area. This usually takes place over 1 weekend. Areas for both four-wheel and two-wheel drive vehicles will be available, with some hiking required. The tree permits will be available at the Golden Gate Canyon State Park Visitor Center located at 92 Crawford Gulch Road, 15 miles west of Golden. To reach the Visitor Center, turn west on Golden Gate Canyon Road, off of Highway 93. Permits will be sold from 9 am to 4 pm daily, while supplies last. Permits may also be purchased over the phone with a credit card by calling 303-582-3707. Visitors must pick up their permits at the Visitor Center prior to cutting. A detailed map with additional information is provided with each permit. The 2008 permit cost was $20. Permits were discounted to $10 for those with a State Parks Pass.
3. Christmas Tree Acres:
This tree farm has been selling cut-your-own trees since 1986, and the owners are there to help. They point out that a fresh tree will last much longer than trees that were chopped down weeks ago and trucked in from a different climate.
For prices and directions call: 970-284-6061
23003 County Road 39, La Salle.
4. U Cut Tree Farm
This 80-acre lot offers several varieties of trees, including Scotch Pine, Douglas Fir and Blue Spruce. You can ask the owners about the pros and cons of each, but here’s a description from the US Forest Service site.
At U Cut, you’ll drive up for directions and then you can take your car out into the lot to find your perfect tree.
For prices and directions call: 303-660-477011200 Colorado 83, Franktown.
Best wishes from my family to yours for a fun and safe holiday season. Enjoy your Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s. Remember that for your 2010 Denver Real Estate needs, I’m just a click away.
; ?>/images/MatoChiclet.gif)
Thanks for the listing of where to chop down your own Christmas trees. I am amazed that the permit is only $10 — that is definitely a great deal.
When I was young, we chopped our own Christmas Tree only once — we went to a friend’s farm and tramped through the snow to find the perfect tree. It is a wonderful memory!
L. Andrews’s last blog post..Chainsaws and Chainsaw Parts for Sale!
I think car is not sufficient for this tree to carry. Nice post. I glad to know about such place.
How cool is that, you can actually cut down your own Christmas tree! In Hawaii, almost all of them come in by ship and container.
Aloha,
Keahi
and Aloha to you too! We almost planned a trip to Oahu for New Years, but changed our minds when I couldn’t figure out where to stay on our miles. I got internet surfing frustration…
Hope to meet you in 2010! Thanks for stopping by for your periodic Colorado fantasy!
Nirvana,
Looks like Australia has beautiful beaches! No Christmas trees there! Plus, it’s summer at Christmas time where you are.
Hi L. Andrews,
They don’t let us use chainsaws to chop down the trees here. Just a hand saw. Keeps you warm!
My favorite tradition is getting together with our entire family and having a big, delicious breakfast Christmas morning. It’s something I have looked forward to ever since I was a kid!
condo finder’s last blog post..Top 3 reasons to buy a condo
i am thinking about moving to colorado , what are some of the good places to live in colorado. I am not looking for real big city like denver but not too small either. some middle size cities.any suggestions?
Fort Collins is beautiful, so is Loveland. Colorado Springs is a little larger, but it’s nestled right up against the mountains. Some great mountain towns are Crested Butte, Telluride, and Steamboat.
If you need the name of a real estate broker in any of those places, let me know!
I’m going to ask you again at Christmas if we are lucky enough to have turkey.
Dad
That is pretty cool, I didn’t even know that it was legal to cut down your own trees. Is the $10 permit for just one tree or can you get a few? Also, I saw you mentioned you can’t use a chainsaw – how about an axe? Just curious… -Mike
That is pretty cool, I didn’t even know that it was legal to cut down your own trees. Is the $10 permit for just one tree or can you get a few? Also, I saw you mentioned you can’t use a chainsaw – how about an axe? Just curious… -Mike
If we cut down trees we hurt the mother nature .The silly thing is that we ask the masters of the forest or garden to chop the trees ,but the actual master that is nature get hurt.I always prefer artificial trees than chopping the real trees.
A chum encoraged me to read this website, brill post, fascinating read… keep up the cool work!
Hm.. I’d like to own a Christmas Tree farm, I think I’ll make a good fortune out of it once in a year….
Juandy’s last blog post..Looking for a great car from Volvo
Thanks for this post. I had never thought of going and cutting down our own Christmas tree, what a great family Xmas outing and experience it would be. Sure beats just popping into town to buy one, cheaper to.
Home Outdoor Christmas Decorations’s last blog post..Outdoor Xmas Lights ? Break Them Out and Start Decorating
We really liked your writing, keep putting out more content like this!
I REALLY enjoyed your post and blog! It took me a tiny bit to uncover your site…but I bookmarked it. Would you mind if I threw up a link back to your post? You do not need to reciprocate, I just wanted to let you know what I was doing.I have a Information site of my own. Peace! I enjoyed reading your blog!