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Each year, families travel to our choose-and-cut Christmas tree farms in search of the perfect evergreen and overnight adventures.
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Holidays in the High Country
More than 90% of North Carolina Christmas trees are Fraser firs, prized for their pyramid shape, sturdy branches and natural fresh holiday scent. NC Fraser firs have been chosen for the White House a record 16 times — including the 2024 tree from Cartner's Christmas Tree Farm in Avery County — the most of any state and any species. Nine of those are from Ashe County alone, earning NC's High Country the title of America’s Christmas Tree Capital.
Here’s how the hunt for the perfect NC-grown Christmas tree usually plays out: You bundle up, pile the family in the car and hit the road. Depending on which farm you visit, your trip could include a hayride to the top of a mountain, a visit with Santa, shopping in a holiday gift shop, drinking hot cider or cocoa, or even joining a marshmallow or hot dog roast. Choosing, measuring and getting your tree cut is easy with help from large farm “elves” who wrap it up and load it for the trip home.
As you plan your trip, consider this: NC’s top five Christmas tree-producing counties are Ashe, Avery, Alleghany and Watauga in the High Country, and Jackson in the Great Smoky Mountains. Species grown in Eastern NC include Leyland cypress, Norway spruce, Eastern red cedar, white pine, Scotch pine, Virginia pine, Arizona cypress (Blue Ice, Carolina Sapphire) and the white cedar cultivar Green Giant.
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C and J Christmas Tree Farm
Grab a hot cocoa or apple cider, visit Santa and Mrs. Claus, stop by the face-painting stand and pick out your perfect Christmas tree at this farm less than 5 miles from downtown Boone.
Frosty's Choose and Cut
In addition to choose-and-cut trees, Frosty's offers visits with Santa, Christmas trolley rides, tractor rides, build-a-wreath stations and "tree stump" souvenirs (they brand a slice of your tree's trunk with the year to serve as unique, handmade souvenirs). Be sure to stop for a glass of wine at the Old Barn Winery afterward.
Sugar Plum Farm
Choose the perfect Fraser fir at Sugar Plum, enjoy complimentary hot chocolate and cider, visit Santa, take a hayride to the mountaintop and explore festive offerings like wreaths, garlands and a charming Christmas shop.
Lil' Grandfather Mountain Christmas Tree Farm
This full-service choose-and-cut Christmas tree farm is the full package: Stay awhile and enjoy free horse rides, hay rides, a hay bale movie theater, handmade local crafts, Santa Claus and Santa's workshop, and concessions.
Greene Tree Farm
Find spectacular views alongside free hayrides, free hot chocolate and apple cider, a shop with homemade goodies and more.
Mistletoe Meadows
Mistletoe Meadows can help you cut, bale and load the perfect tree back home. You can also enjoy complimentary cocoa, take a hayride and receive a free wreath with your tree purchase.
Appalachian Christmas Mountain Farms
In addition to selling premium Fraser firs, the farm offers wreaths and holiday goodies from local vendors, a choose & cut section for your "little tikes," and family-friendly hayrides.
Panoramic View Christmas Tree Farm
Panoramic View is a perfect stop for the whole family with picturesque backdrops, farm animals and free hayrides. The farm also sells tree stands, wreaths, garland and handmade bows. Pets are welcome to join you on your tree hunt!
Elk River Evergreens
This family-owned business knows choosing a Christmas tree is special. That's why you'll find the staff offering additional services such as harvesting, tree shaking, tree stand fitting, baling and loading.
Long's Tree Farm
When you spot the large Frosty the Snowman, you know you've made it. In addition to trees ranging from table-top size to 16 feet high, Long's Tree Farm also offers fresh garland and wreaths.
Shady Rest Tree Farm
Shady Rest is all about convenience, offering three ways to purchase trees. Besides visiting the farm in person to handpick your tree, you can also stop by anytime throughout the year and select a tree to have shipped to you during the holidays. Or you can even shop online and have a tree shipped to you for free.
Sandy Hollar Farms
With a wide selection of trees, including Fraser fir, white pine, Turkish Fir and Canaan fir, Sandy Hollar offers a unique choose-and-cut experience. Enjoy family-friendly hayrides, festive wreaths and a charming Christmas shop to complete your holiday outing.
Bear Valley Farm
Visit Bear Valley Farm for some old-fashioned traditions and hospitality, and make sure to stop by the old red caboose to sit by the fire and enjoy some of Jerry’s cowboy coffee and cocoa.
Boyd Mountain Christmas Tree Farm
A big family needs room to spread out, and Boyd Mountain extends an opportunity to do so on a 150-acre tract that includes hiking trails, a stocked trout stream, a Fraser fir farm, and nine hand-hewed log cabins that date back 150 to 200 years and sleep two to 10 people. Anyone looking for more to do on a choose-and-cut holiday will find the Cataloochee Ski Area a convenient option.
Mehaffey Tree Farm
Operating since 1984, Mehaffey's family-run farm offers beautiful views as you pick out your tree. Be sure to check out its Facebook page for daily updates — inventory can leave fast.
Helms Christmas Tree Farm
Families will enjoy selecting from a variety of trees (or a pre-cut Fraser fir) at Helms Christmas Tree Farm. Plus, shop for wreaths, swags, kissing balls and table arrangements. About 20 miles north in Valdese, the Trail of Faith display celebrates the season and illuminates the unique history of the Waldensian pilgrims who settled here.
Spillman's Christmas Tree Farm
Spillman’s offers a wide variety of trees, from freshly cut Fraser firs to red cedars (available starting in December). Enjoy a festive outing with hayrides, apple cider, Christmas crafts and even a chance to learn about the trees themselves.
Justice Farms
For an ultimate Christmas tree-picking experience near the coast, Justice Farms' 10 acres is a great choice. In addition to choose and cut, the farm also offers precut Fraser firs from the North Carolina mountains, fresh wreaths and tree accessories.
For more options, The North Carolina Christmas Tree Association lists dozens of Christmas tree growers who invite visitors to their farms — most of which are family farms - to choose and cut the perfect tree. North Carolina Farm Fresh and the Eastern North Carolina Christmas Tree Growers Association also offers great information about where to find trees in the mountains, central region, and on the coast. And they need your help now more than ever, so make a trip today!
Malia Kline contributed to this story.