Where to cut your own tree in Colorado’s national forests: 9 permit areas, with 2026 cutting dates, prices and the rules. Grand County is already open.
Open now
Grand County
Near Denver from
27 Nov
Permit areas
9
Last checked
12 Nov
Colorado Christmas tree permits: 2026 dates
9 permit areas, by first cutting day. 6 have posted 2026 cutting dates; the other 3 have posted when permits go on sale, or say their dates are still to come.
16 Nov2026White River National ForestSummit, Eagle & Garfield counties · along I-70anything but blue spruce$10
21 Nov2026Roosevelt National Forest: Canyon LakesRed Feather Lakes & Poudre Canyon · Larimer County, west of Fort Collinsno species namednot printed for 2026
27 Nov2026Covered Bridge RanchMontrose · western Colorado, about 4–5 hours from Denvercut your own, 6–30 ftfrom $85
27 Nov2026Pike National Forest: South PlatteBuffalo Creek & Sugar Creek · closest to Denverany species; bristlecone not advisednot printed for 2026
tbcPike National Forest: Pikes PeakWoodland Park · closest to Colorado Springsany species; bristlecone not advisednot printed for 2026
Pike National Forest: South Platte: Buffalo Creek and Sugar Creek. It has a quota and can sell out. You can’t cut on the Boulder or Clear Creek districts.
Near Denver, Fort Collins & Colorado Springs · 4 permit areas, 3 with 2026 cutting dates — Pike, Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests
Arapaho National Forest: Sulphur
Granby, Fraser & Winter Park, CO · Grand County
Open now. You can cut across most of the district, not only in the mapped areas.
2026 season7 Nov – 6 Jan
OctNovDec
CuttingSat 7 Nov 2026 – Wed 6 Jan 2027the forest’s 2026 guide
Permits on sale8 Oct 2026 – 6 Jan 2027Recreation.gov; no refunds
Elk CreekWalk-in only“will not be open for drive-in tree cutting this year”
Permit pricenot publishednot printed on the forest’s 2026 pages; Recreation.gov shows it at checkout
Practical
Tree sizestump 6 in across or less, cut within 6 in of the ground
Sawsno chainsaws; hand saws or battery saws
Not hereFraser Experimental Forest, Winter Park and Mary Jane ski areas, wilderness, within 75 ft of roads and trails
Before you set offGates on seasonal Forest Service roads close on 15 November, weather depending. Four-wheel drive, all-wheel drive or chains are required, and phones may not work.
The mountains and the south-west · 5 permit areas, 3 with 2026 cutting dates — Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison, Medicine Bow-Routt, White River, Pike-San Isabel and San Juan
Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests
Steamboat Springs, Walden & Yampa, CO · north-west Colorado
Open since mid-October: one permit is good on every district of the forest, in Colorado and Wyoming, apart from the areas closed to cutting.
2026 season13 Oct – 31 Dec
OctNovDec
CuttingTue 13 Oct – Thu 31 Dec 2026the forest’s Recreation.gov page
Permit price$10 a treelimit 5 per household; $2.50 booking fee online
Practical
Tree sizeup to 20 ft
Not herewilderness, timber sale areas, Fish Creek Falls, Steamboat Ski Area
Contact
WhereMedicine Bow-Routt National Forests (Colorado and Wyoming)
Durango, Dolores, Bayfield & Pagosa, CO · south-west Colorado
The south-west’s forest, where the Forest Service asks you to cut white fir.
Permits on salenot published“2026 dates TBD”; its Recreation.gov page is up for “the 2026 season” with no dates
Permit price$8plus a service fee online; $8 at the district offices
Practical
Cutwhite fir, subalpine fir, spruce
Don’t cutponderosa pine, Douglas fir
Tree sizeup to 20 ft; stump no more than 6 in high
Before you set offFlood damage: the forest’s release of 7 November 2026 closes the listed roads on the Columbine and Pagosa districts to motor vehicles through 31 December 2026 (walkers, riders and cyclists may use them at their own risk). Its Recreation.gov page warns that flooding has closed many forest roads and access on those two districts will be harder. Dolores district roads are open unless marked closed (the releases of 2 and 4 November 2026).
Contact
WhereSan Juan National Forest; offices in Dolores, Durango, Bayfield and Pagosa
A real Christmas tree farm: Montrose · one farm, open 27 Nov – 20 Dec — Covered Bridge Ranch, western Colorado
Covered Bridge Ranch
Montrose, CO · western Colorado, about 4–5 hours from Denver
Colorado’s one real choose-and-cut farm: a 300-acre ranch at the foot of the San Juan mountains, home to the Colorado Conifers nursery, which supplied the 2020 Capitol Christmas Tree. No admission charge, and a tractor-drawn wagon brings you and your tree back to the barns.
2026 season27 Nov – 20 Dec
OctNovDec
SeasonFri 27 Nov – Sun 20 Dec 2026“November 27 to December 20, 2026”
DaysWednesday to Sunday, 10am–4:30pm
Cut your own6 ft to 30 ft, from $85pre-cut trees cut fresh each day too; potted trees 4–6 ft; “Charlie Brown” trees from $25
What’s there
Cut your own
Pre-cut
Potted trees
Free entry
Wagon back to the barns
Wreath barn
Campfire and s’mores
Practical
Dogsnot stated
Paymentnot stated
Before you set offStaff shake, net and load your tree, and drill the trunk if your stand needs it. Food at weekends only.
Contact
Where17249 6250 (Dave Wood) Rd, Montrose, CO 81403
There are almost no farms on the Front Range where you cut a tree that grew there. Firs are hard to
grow here, and the Christmas tree sellers around Denver and Colorado Springs are lots and nurseries with
pre-cut trees. The nearest thing to a farm is CreekSide Tree Nursery, 6932 N 95th St, Niwot, open
27 November to 23 December 2026 (weekdays 12–6, Saturday 10–7, Sunday 12–7, no
appointment). Its own site is plain about how its “Cut-Your-Own Experience” works: it brings
in freshly harvested firs and pines and plants them in its field for you to cut. Trees run from $80 to
$650, most 6 to 8 ft trees $190 to $300 (creeksideboulder.com).
Colorado’s one real choose-and-cut farm is a long drive west: Covered
Bridge Ranch in Montrose, about four to five hours from Denver, open 27 November to 20 December 2026,
Wednesday to Sunday.
Closer to home, to cut a tree that grew where it stands, buy a permit: the
South Platte district is the closest to Denver, from 27
November.
Colorado Christmas tree permit questions
How do I get a Christmas tree permit in Colorado?
Buy it from the national forest you want to cut in, on Recreation.gov, and print it before you go. White River and San Juan also sell permits at their ranger offices, and White River at local shops. A permit is only good for the forest, and on Pike-San Isabel the district, it was bought for.
Where can I cut my own Christmas tree near Denver?
The South Platte district of Pike National Forest (Buffalo Creek and Sugar Creek), from 27 November to 19 December 2026; permits can sell out. Further out, the Sulphur district in Grand County is open from 7 November and Canyon Lakes west of Fort Collins from 21 November. The Boulder and Clear Creek districts are closed to tree cutting.
Are there Christmas tree farms near Denver?
Hardly any. Firs are hard to grow on the Front Range, and the places around Denver and Colorado Springs that sell Christmas trees are lots and nurseries selling pre-cut trees. The nearest thing to a farm is CreekSide Tree Nursery in Niwot, open from 27 November to 23 December 2026: its cut-your-own trees are freshly harvested firs and pines that it plants in its field for you to cut, not trees grown there. To cut a tree that grew where it stands, buy a permit for the South Platte district of Pike National Forest. Colorado's one real choose-and-cut farm is Covered Bridge Ranch in Montrose, about four to five hours away: open 27 November to 20 December 2026, Wednesday to Sunday, with trees from $85 and no admission charge.
How much is a Christmas tree permit in Colorado?
White River National Forest charges $10 a tree, with a limit of five per person, as does Medicine Bow-Routt; San Juan and Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison charge $8, plus a service fee online. Arapaho-Roosevelt and Pike-San Isabel haven't printed a 2026 price on their own pages; Recreation.gov shows it before you pay.
Can fourth graders get a free Christmas tree permit?
Yes. Fourth graders with an Every Kid Outdoors pass get one free permit by entering the pass or voucher number on Recreation.gov. The $2.50 reservation fee still applies.
How big a tree can I cut?
On Pike-San Isabel, Arapaho-Roosevelt and White River the stump can be no more than 6 inches across. Pike-San Isabel and White River allow trees up to 15 feet tall, and San Juan and Medicine Bow-Routt up to 20 feet.
How these were checked
Every permit area here was read on the Forest Service’s own pages on 7, 9 and 12 November 2026: the forests’ Christmas tree pages (Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison and Medicine Bow-Routt posted 2026 dates on 9 November), their 2026 district guides, the Pike-San Isabel news release of 2 November 2026, and the forests’ Recreation.gov permit pages. Where a forest hasn’t printed a 2026 date or price, the card says so rather than repeating last year’s. News stories were used only to find those pages.
Rules change from forest to forest and even district to district, and roads close with the snow. Read the permit you buy, and check the road before you drive.
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