Three listings that are not what they look like
Mountain Memories Christmas Trees, Jefferson, is still listed as a choose-and-cut farm
by more than one directory. It is not one. The last word from the farm itself says they do not
have the supply to open to the public and were assessing whether to reopen in future years
— posted in November 2019. Seven seasons later nothing has replaced it. They have
grown Fraser fir since 1972 and may still sell wholesale, but do not drive out expecting to cut
a tree. The directories also give an address and phone the farm itself does not use: they list
500 Cox Road and 336-246-7037, while the farm’s own page says Bare Knob Road and
336-977-1608.
Grouse Ridge is listed at 14911 Old Hwy 16 in Grassy Creek, with a Facebook link. That
link does not go to a farm in Ashe County — it goes to Grouse Ridge Peters Creek, a
seasonal lot at 2690 Peters Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem, two hours away, which sells
pumpkins in October and trees in December. It is a real place and may well be selling the Grassy
Creek farm’s trees, but it is a lot in a city, not a field you can walk. Whether the farm
itself opens to the public, we still do not know.
Angelhare Forest Christmas Tree Farm is listed at 841 West Reno Road in Glendale
Springs. The farm is certainly trading — Billy and Carol Elledge have been in the tree
business since 1986 and were posting through December last year — but the address on their
own page is 5620 Tryon Road, Raleigh, four hours east, on 919-612-1183. Like Grouse
Ridge, what they present to the public is a Triangle lot rather than the mountain field. If you
are in Raleigh that is good news; if you wanted to cut your own in Ashe County, ring first.
West Jefferson and Ashe County questions
Where is the Christmas tree capital of North Carolina?
Ashe County, and it is the Christmas tree capital of the country: no county in America grows more Christmas trees. West Jefferson is its main town, with Jefferson, Glendale Springs, Lansing, Fleetwood and Laurel Springs around it. Almost all of it is Fraser fir, which grows wild only in the southern Appalachians and only at altitude — which is why these few counties supply so much of the east coast.
Which farms near West Jefferson are open in 2026?
Twelve have published a 2026 schedule. Lyalls Nursery is open already, since 1 November, every day to Christmas Eve, and Wayland’s opens every day from 15 November to 23 December. Mistletoe Meadows opens on 20, 21, 22, 25, 27, 28 and 29 November, then 5, 6, 12 and 13 December, 9am to dark, closed on Thanksgiving Day. Peach Bottom opens the same Friday and runs thirteen days, 10am to 5pm, Thanksgiving included. Frosty’s opens at 3pm that afternoon and runs nine days to 6 December. Day’s, Lantern Farm, Long’s, Lil’ Grandfather, Davis and Shady Rest open on Saturday 21 November; Davis and Shady Rest are then open every day to Christmas Eve, Long’s every weekend until Christmas, and Lil’ Grandfather to 6 December. Top of the Mountain opens on Friday 27 November, Fridays and Saturdays only, to 12 December. Clark’s and Ivy Point have no 2026 dates yet.
How much is a Christmas tree in Ashe County?
Three farms have a 2026 figure. Day’s charges $11 a foot for any size from 5 to 12 ft, so $66 for a 6 ft tree and $77 for a 7 ft one — the cheapest in the county. Mistletoe Meadows and Top of the Mountain both charge $85 for a 6–7 ft tree. Top of the Mountain and Lantern Farm have a full 2026 ladder, both sent to us by the farms themselves. Top of the Mountain: $30 for a table top, $45 at 4–5 ft, $65 at 5–6, $85 at 6–7, $100 at 7–8, $140 at 8–9, $175 at 9–10, $230 at 10–11 and $300 at 11–12 ft. Lantern Farm: $30 at 3–4 ft, $45 at 4–5, $65 at 5–6, $85 at 6–7, $100 at 7–8, $150 at 8–9 and $180 at 9–10 ft, with nothing taller sold. Ivy Point lists $75 at 6–7 ft, $85 at 7–8 and $110 at 8–9, with no year given. Lil’ Grandfather has its 2026 dates up but still shows a ladder under last season’s heading: $57 at 4–5 ft, $78 at 5–6, $89 at 6–7, $99 at 7–8, then $150 and up to $265 at 11–12 ft. Peach Bottom prices trees it posts to you — $132.95 to $198.95 for a Fraser fir with carriage included — but not trees you cut yourself, so that is not a farm-gate price. Nobody else up here prints a figure; Long’s has a $5-off coupon and no prices to take it off. For comparison, farms near Asheville were $100–$115 at 6–7 ft last season. What a tree costs collects every real price list we have found.
Which farm has the biggest choice of tree?
Shady Rest in Glendale Springs, by a long way. Alongside Fraser fir it grows Nordmann, Korean, Turkish, concolor and Canaan fir, white pine and Colorado blue spruce, across two sites and more than thirty thousand trees — the widest species list of any farm in the state. For height, Long’s goes to 16 ft and Shady Rest’s choose-and-cut trees to 20 ft.
Which farm is best with children?
Lil’ Grandfather in Laurel Springs, on paper: free horse rides and hayrides, a hay-bale cinema, Santa Claus with his own workshop, a heated restroom and concessions — open eight days from 21 November to 6 December, Thanksgiving Day included. Frosty’s runs a trolley or hayride up the mountain and has a winery on the same property for the adults, and it now has its dates up: nine days from 20 November, pets welcome, open all day on Black Friday.
Can I bring my dog?
Frosty’s says yes outright — bring your pet to pick out a tree — Lil’ Grandfather welcomes friendly pets on a leash, and Clark’s Evergreens is listed as pet-friendly. The rest don’t say either way. If it matters, ring the farm; most of these are small family operations and will simply tell you.
Why do some Ashe County farms still show 2025 dates?
Because a farm that sells most of its trees over three or four weekends to people who come back every year has little reason to update a website in October, and the listings that copy from them carry the old dates along. The test is the weekdays. A Thursday-to-Sunday weekend of 4 to 7 December, for instance, is 2025: in 2026 the 4th is a Friday. The same test is what lets us publish Peach Bottom, Frosty’s and Lil’ Grandfather as this season’s: their date lists only fit the 2026 calendar. Several directories covering this county republish last year’s dates as though they were current. We don’t.
Is Mountain Memories Christmas Trees open?
Not to the public, and it has not been for years. The farm’s own last word on it says they did not have enough supply to open and were assessing whether to reopen in future years — posted in November 2019. Several directories still list it as a choose-and-cut farm with an address and phone number that the farm itself does not use. If you are heading for Jefferson, pick one of the farms above instead.
How far is West Jefferson from Boone?
About 45 minutes north on US-221 and NC-194, which makes the two clusters easy to combine in a day. Boone and Watauga County has more farms with 2026 dates up; Ashe County has the bigger trees and the wider choice of species. Asheville is two hours south-west.