Thanks to masterful marketing, you can’t think about Idaho without thinking about potatoes.
But Idaho also is rich in trees, and whether you venture to a choose-and-cut Idaho Christmas tree farm, or search the public lands where cutting is allowed — with a tag purchased from the state or a participating vendor — you’re sure to find your perfect Christmas tree.
When it’s time to set up your tree, save time and avoid the multi-person hassle – check out the Krinner Tree Genie. The foot-operated ratcheting system on this Christmas tree stand will have your tree up in under a minute!
Read on to discover the best Christmas tree farms in Idaho, the best seasonal Christmas tree lots, and how and where to access trees on Idaho’s public lands.
Best Christmas Tree Farms in Northern Idaho
Forever Green Tree Farm
St. Maries, Idaho and Plummer, Idaho
With its two locations offering choose-and-cut Christmas trees, Forever Green Tree Farm is the place to go in northern Idaho to get a great holiday tree.
Visitors to this Idaho Christmas tree farm can, of course, harvest their own trees right in the fields with handsaws. But if you’d prefer, a member of the Forever Green Tree Farm staff can cut down your chosen tree. And, if your holiday schedule is already too hurried, you can choose your tree from a rack of fresh-cut specimens.
If you do choose to cut your own tree, you won’t need to guess about the price before you take your selection from the ground at this Idaho Christmas tree farm.
Color-coded tags, based on tree height, let you know in advance what you’ll pay for your tree. In a recent season, prices ranged from $20 for a two-to-four-foot tree to $113 for a tree between 10 feet and 11 feet.
Crowell’s Land of Christmas
Sandpoint, Idaho
Hot cocoa, candy canes, cookies, hayrides, and a warm fire await you at Crowell’s Land of Christmas, one of the more exceptional Christmas tree farms in Idaho.
The roots of this Idaho Christmas tree farm stretch back for more than a century, when Dwight Crowell decided to add Christmas trees to the fruit orchards and strawberry fields on the family farm. In the ensuing years, a visit to Crowell’s Land of Christmas has become a longstanding tradition for many families across a wide swath of the Sandpoint area.
A measure of the quality of trees available at this Idaho Christmas tree farm can be found in the fact that its trees have been the choice for the Kootenai Medical Center’s Festival of Trees for more than a decade.
With seven varieties of trees, at varying heights that can reach as much as 24 feet, it’s certain you’ll find the perfect Christmas tree at Crowell’s Land of Christmas.
Spring Valley Family Tree Farm
Troy, Idaho
One thing you’ll notice immediately about Spring Valley Family Tree Farm, one of the more outstanding Christmas tree farms in Idaho, is the amazing variety of trees available for your Christmas season enjoyment.
Spring Valley Family Tree Farm boasts a wide variety of fir trees, from the Grand, Canaan and Concolor firs to the Trojan and European Silver firs.
And that’s not all. As one of the most notable Christmas tree farms in Idaho, Spring Valley Family Tree Farm also has a selection of corkbark and blue alpine trees, along with the blue spruce and the Norway spruce.
You’ll also find tastefully decorated evergreen wreaths and swags in the gift shop at Spring Valley Christmas Tree Farm, and there also are opportunities to learn how to make your own wreath.
Underpinning everything at Spring Valley Tree Farm is the belief, expressed on its website, that “the perfect tree is a family tree,” an attitude that gives this farm a top spot among Idaho Christmas tree farms.
Best Christmas Tree Farms in Central Idaho
Mountain High Christmas Trees
Ketchum, Idaho
As an annual Christmas tree lot, Mountain High Christmas Trees offers Noble, Alpine, and Nordman fir trees in sizes that can fit any space from a tabletop decoration to a lobby- or living-room-sized tree for your business or your home.
And, if you live in the Wood River Valley, Mountain High Christmas Trees will deliver and set up your holiday tree selection. As an added convenience, you can order your Christmas tree from Mountain High Christmas Trees by phone or email.
Mountain High Christmas Trees, while not in the strictest sense an Idaho Christmas tree farm, offers an array of items that make it just as much of an adventure as a trip into the countryside. For example, you can get fresh wreaths, tree stands, ornaments, and more for your holiday at this annual lot in Ketchum.
For your convenience, Mountain High Christmas Trees is open from the weekend after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve.
Salmon-Challis National Forest
Salmon, Idaho
The Salmon-Challis National Forest, encompassing parts of four mountain ranges, features numerous rivers, ghost towns, historic trails and Mount Borah, Idaho’s highest peak. And you can also harvest a Christmas tree there, subject to some rules and regulations.
First, you’ll need a permit, which costs $5 and is available online for your convenience. Permits also can be purchased at Salmon-Challis National Forest district offices or at selected vendors, with a limit of two tags per household.
Tags can be used in any open area administered by the Salmon-Challis National Forest or the Salmon and Challis Bureau of Land Management field offices.
There are a number of restrictions on where and how trees can be cut in the Salmon-Challis National Forest. For complete information on cutting your Christmas tree in this part of Idaho’s public lands, be sure to check this online guide before heading into the woods.
Sweetpeas Christmas Trees
Garden City, Idaho
Sweetpeas Christmas Trees, a seasonal family-operated Christmas tree lot, is stocked each year with Noble, Nordman, and Grand fir trees, not to mention some real family fun, just like you would find at one of the Christmas tree farms in Idaho.
For instance, recent activities at Sweetpeas Christmas Trees have included holiday-themed face painting to help put you in the Christmas spirit, delicious kettle corn to enjoy, and for those who may not quite be in the Christmas spirt, an opportunity to be photographed with the Grinch.
Sweetpeas Christmas trees, while it may not in the strictest sense be an Idaho Christmas tree farm, is focused on friendliness. Visitors are invited to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate and stand around the fire for a visit before heading home with their tree.
Best Christmas Tree Farms in Southern Idaho
Hopkins Evergreens
Nampa, Idaho
If you’re looking for full service in your search for a Christmas tree, Hopkins Evergreens is the place for you.
While not strictly an Idaho Christmas tree farm, Hopkins Evergreens holds the distinction of being the oldest family-owned Christmas tree company in the state.
But a tree isn’t all that is available to you at Hopkins Evergreens. The business also offers a delivery and set-up service to help ease the pressure of what sometimes can be a hectic time of year.
Details about the upcoming Christmas tree season at Hopkins Evergreens will be available on its website as soon as October, and it certainly is worth checking out as a place to find your perfect holiday tree.
Caribou-Targhee National Forest
Southeastern Idaho
The Caribou-Targhee National Forest, covering nearly 3 million acres in southeastern Idaho and parts of Utah and Wyoming, is another section of Idaho’s public lands that can serve as your own personal Idaho Christmas tree farm.
Permits are required to harvest a Christmas tree, but the fees and dates for the upcoming season aren’t available until later this year. In past years, Christmas tree permits have been priced at $15.
The Caribou-Targhee National Forest has, however, been making a free permit available to every interested fourth-grade student with an Every Kid Outdoors pass or paper voucher. Once you have the voucher, go to the Caribou-Targhee National Forest website for further details.
Once you have your permit, either through the Every Kid Outdoors program, or through one of the ranger district offices, or online at recreation.gov, or from a participating vendor, there are rules for what is, effectively, the largest of the Christmas tree farms in Idaho.
Briefly, a cut tree can’t be more than 20 feet tall, and when cutting your tree, don’t leave a stump more than six inches in height. The full list of regulations for cutting a Christmas tree in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest is available online at recreation.gov.
Wrapping Up Christmas Tree Farms in Idaho
We hope that this information on Christmas tree farms in Idaho has been helpful to you as you make plans for your holiday decor and celebration. To learn more about evergreen trees, inside and outside of the Christmas season, check out these posts.