Thousands of Coloradans take to national forests to chop their own trees
RED FEATHER LAKES, Colo. — Just south of the Colorado-Wyoming border, families from both states spend weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas trudging through powdery snow with axe’s and saws.
Smokey the Bear and a United States Forest Service representative greet families with tips on finding the perfect Christmas tree. Each tree is slightly different, but families share one goal: finding the tree that calls to them.
“It just speaks to you,” said Ben Jones, a Fort Collins resident who has an annual tradition of chopping his own tree. “When you find the right tree, you kind of just know.”
The trees near the Mount Margaret Trailhead in the Cache Le Poudre Wilderness don’t look like those of a Christmas tree farm or hardware store. Their trunks are thin, many are lopsided from heavy snow and wind, and most have bald spots from fallen leaves.
But for those who are dedicated to chopping down their own tree, the conventional beauty matters far less than the experience of a hike and the satisfaction of hauling a tree back to your car.
Jones grew up in Colorado and has made cutting his own tree an annual tradition. Though he’s tried it all — tree farms, garage sales, plastic trees — nothing else feels right.
“This is a way to get a tree with more character and a little extra effort but at a fraction of the cost,” Jones said. “Sometimes, when you go with a store, you don’t even know where the tree came from.”
Cutting a tree from a national forest is a popular tradition in Colorado, said Reghan Cloudman, United States Forest Service public affairs specialist for the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests.
Cloudman said the Forest Service issues about 5,000 permits each year in Larimer and Grand Counties — two Colorado counties offering Christmas tree cut-downs in their nearby national forests.
Both areas have been heavily affected by wildfires, so Cloudman said cutting smaller trees helps with wildfire mitigation while supplying a nice memory for participants.
“Removing those fuels and thinning out the smaller trees is definitely an advantage,” Cloudman said. “And it provides a fun service to the public and an opportunity for them to get out and enjoy their forest in a different way in the winter and build those connections that can resonate throughout the year in appreciation for our national forest.”
Liam Panella, 8, found his fmaily's Christmas tree this year.
Photo: Alison Berg, Rocky Mountain PBS
Will and Lanny Panella trekked up to Red Feather Lakes from Commerce City with their 8-year-old son, Liam, for the family’s first DIY Christmas tree exposition on Saturday.
The Panellas weren’t exactly sure what kind of tree they wanted. But when Liam stumbled upon the right tree, the three family members knew.
At the advice of Smokey the Bear, the family hiked about 300 yards into the forest, scouting just off the hiking trail. They stopped to check out contenders, but each was too big, too small or otherwise not quite right.
Then, after scouting north of the trailhead, the family found a seven-foot-tall tree with a thin stump and pine needles flaring out of all sides. The bottom half of the tree sported two branches full of brown spikes, but the Panellas still knew it was right for their Commerce City home.
Liam wanted to chop the majority of the tree, and his 8-year-old hands did most of the work, with occasional help from mom and dad. With a series of ax chops from Liam and Lanny, and some sawing from Will, the tree was felled in about three minutes.
“It was really special to see Liam taking that first chop and seeing the tree come down and taking pictures and building memories that when he’s our age and has his own kids, he’ll be able to talk about,” Lanny said. “It’s a nice new experience now that Liam is old enough to remember.”
Will grew up in California and has memories of his family driving to Half Moon Bay to cut their own tree. Those memories planted a love of the outdoors in his mind, and he hoped to pass the same onto his son.
“Those types of memories are ones that we always want to try to relive,” Will said.
Alison Berg is a reporter at Rocky Mountain PBS. Alisonberg@rmpbs.org.
Lindsey Ford is a multimedia journalist with Rocky Mountain PBS. Lindseyford@rmpbs.org.