A Hudson Valley Almanac day-trip guide
Thirty-six Christmas tree farms and holiday stands across thirteen counties — sheared balsams and Fraser firs you can cut yourself, wreaths made in the barn, and a few farm stores that stay open right up to Christmas Eve. Most open the day after Thanksgiving, and the best trees go early.
Veeder's Tree Farm in Earlton started from seedlings in 1983 and now carries about 20,000 hand-sheared trees on 20 acres — Balsam, Fraser, and Canaan fir, Scotch pine, and spruce — open daily from November 1 through Christmas. Wilkens Fruit & Fir Farm in Yorktown Heights, in the same family for over a century, adds choose-and-cut trees after Thanksgiving to its pick-your-own peaches, apples, and pumpkins. Mark's Cut & Carry Christmas Trees in Schaghticoke is open weekends from Black Friday, and at Castleton Christmas Trees you can pre-tag your tree and come back for it, open 9 to 5 daily starting Black Friday.
No county has more. Besides Mark's and Castleton, there's Morin's Tree Farm in Buskirk (open 9 to 4 every day after Thanksgiving), McDonough's Farm in East Greenbush, Krug's Brookside Farm in East Schodack, Zema's Nursery in Stephentown, and Breezy Hill Blooms, a Hoosick Falls flower farm that turns to trees and wreaths for the holidays.
Saratoga County has six: Buell's Trees in Gansevoort (open daily from late November), Fogg Hollow Farm in Charlton and Goode Trees & Wreaths in Ballston Spa (both weekends in season), Bob's Trees in Galway, Boulder Brook Farm in Malta, which also sells maple and honey, and Sunnyside Gardens in Saratoga Springs. North and east, Bailey Family Christmas Trees in Cambridge runs from the day after Thanksgiving to December 23, Kuzmich Christmas Tree Farm in Greenwich asks you to call ahead, and River Bend Christmas Tree Farm in Lake Luzerne sells trees, wreaths, and maple syrup.
Bovina Center alone has two: Robson's Christmas Trees and Echo Hill Farm. Nearby are Maple Shade 1785 in Delhi, with baked goods and preserves; Cody's Sugar Shack in Fleischmanns, with maple syrup and pasture-raised meats; and Sweet Meadows Country Home & Garden in Davenport. In Sullivan County, try Trees of the Woods in Callicoon Center, ELM Garden & Floral Design in Livingston Manor, and Buck Brook Alpacas in Roscoe, where trees come with alpaca fiber and a farm store. Fox Hollow Nursery in West Oneonta rounds out the hills.
Most farms open the day after Thanksgiving and close when the best trees are gone, so the first two weekends are the time to go. Call ahead to ask whether they provide saws, shake and bale the tree, take cards, and sell pre-cut trees or wreaths. Dress for mud, bring gloves and a tape measure (trees look smaller in a field than in a living room), and bring rope or straps for the car roof. At home, make a fresh cut across the trunk and keep the stand full of water.
Explore more of the region's theme guides on Explore by Theme, or pick up holiday gifts on the Beverage Trails.
Cold air, a sharp saw, and the smell of balsam in the car all the way home.