Cutting your own Christmas tree this year? Here’s what you need to know
Many families regard a road trip to cut down a fresh Christmas tree in the high country over the Thanksgiving weekend as a holiday tradition. Most public lands agencies have set their policies for this year’s cutting season, and some are already selling permits. Others begin selling them this week.
For Golden Gate Canyon State Park, Colorado Parks and Wildlife is holding a random lottery draw for
250 permits. The entry period for the lottery has begun and runs through Nov. 15. Only one permit will be allowed per household and the cost for the permit is $35. The park is located 13 miles northwest of Golden in Jefferson and Gilpin counties.
Applicants will be notified regarding the result of their lottery application by email the week of Nov. 15. Those who receive permits will be allowed to visit the park for cutting their tree on Dec. 4 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. To enter the lottery or get more information, including the rules for cutting down trees, go to CPW’S sales site, cpwshop.com/ licensing.page. Type your age in the drop-down box (unless you already have an account), click on “Go” and scroll down to the Christmas tree tab.
In national forests, rules vary from forest to forest and even district to district.
• Arapaho and Roosevelt
National Forests, which take in national forest lands in the Front Range from Mount Evans north to the Wyoming border (not including Rocky Mountain National Park): Permits are available at recreation.gov. That’s also where you will find the rules governing cutting. In Grand County’s Sulphur Ranger District, cutting will be permitted through Jan. 6. Roads will be plowed in the Elk Creek cutting area near Fraser from Dec. 4-12. In the Canyon Lakes Ranger District (national forest land in Larimer County), cutting is permitted Nov. 26 through Jan. 8. The cost is $20 per tree, up to a maximum of five.
• Pike and San Isabel National Forests, including areas south of Mount Evans, west of Pikes Peak and the Arkansas River Valley from Leadville to Salida: Permits are on sale for the South Park and South
Platte ranger districts. Permits for the Leadville, Salida and San Carlos ranger districts have gone on sale, while permits for the Pikes Peak Ranger District will be available Nov. 26. The cost is $20 per tree, up to a maximum of five. Permits are available at recreation.gov, which also has a list of the rules governing cutting.
• White River National Forest, including Summit County and areas around Vail, Aspen and north of Glenwood Springs: Permits will go on sale at recreation.gov on Nov. 15.
Details have not yet been announced but will be soon.
Reid Armstrong, public affairs specialist for the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, urges tree-cutters to thoroughly research dates, rules and locations in advance.
“Know before you go,” Armstrong said. “Make sure you’ve got snow tires and a shovel and a sled and warm clothes, (and) you’re ready to go slog through the snow. Lots of trails and roads this time of year are going to be snow-covered, not plowed.”
Armstrong also recommends downloading forest service maps from the Avenza app. Last year, some people cut down trees on landscaped private property.
“You can download the maps, and even if you don’t have cell service, it will geolocate you so you know exactly where you are with GPS,” Armstrong said. “It will do that with forest service visitor use maps, which you do have to pay for. The forest service motor vehicle maps are free.”
Armstrong notes that areas of those two forests were affected by the East Troublesome and Cameron Peak fires in 2020, the two largest wildfires in Colorado history. She suggests consulting online maps of the burn scars to avoid places that may have no usable trees to cut.
Finally, Boulder County Open Space also will conduct a lottery for issuing 100 permits for Christmas tree cutting at the Reynolds Ranch Open Space near Nederland. Cutting will be permitted during specific time slots the first weekend in December, with 25 permits being issued for each of four two-hour time slots. Sunday is the deadline to enter the lottery and notifications regarding results will go out the next day. Permits will cost $20.