Finding the Perfect Christmas Tree in Portland, Oregon

You don't have to go far to find the perfect Christmas Tree in Portland, Oregon. Oregon is the leading producer of Christmas trees with 8.3 million trees harvested in 2001. In fact, one of the greatest things about buying a Christmas Tree in Oregon is that you can go directly to a Christmas tree farm and pick out your tree and cut it down!

This may sound like a little too much work for some people, but it's a fun Christmas time activity for the whole family to enjoy. It especially helps if at least a few of the family members are strong enough to help carry the tree back to the car.

Popular tree varieties in the Portland area include Grand Fir, Scotch Pine, Douglass Fir and Noble Fir. Personally, my favorite is the noble fir with it's bluish silver needles and evenly spaced branches that let dangling ornaments hang perfectly, it just doesn't seem like Christmas without a Noble Fir.

The Noble Fir is the most expensive of the Christmas tree varieties. One of the reasons for this is that grooming a Noble Fir takes more time and effort than grooming other kinds of trees. I was once told by a Christmas tree grower that grooming a Noble Fir, so that it looks conical shaped, is similar to giving a layered style hair cut. Whereas with other trees, it's like taking the clippers and giving a buzz cut. The Noble Fir cannot be simply buzzed with clippers into a cone shape. Branches have to be cut back one or two at a time and it's just more labor intensive.

Just before Thanksgiving, lots of signs start popping up pointing the direction to the nearest u-cut tree farm. Some tree farms have gift shops with lots of fun Christmas items to buy; others focus only on trees. Most tree farms will have a baler available to tie up your tree like a folded-up umbrella for a few extra dollars. This makes it much easier to tie the tree to the top of your car.

Here are just a few of the many Christmas Tree farms in the West Portland area:

Helvetia Christmas Tree Farm, 12814 NW Bishop Rd., Hillsboro, OR 97124, (503) 647-5858.
Hours: 9 am to 5 pm, weekends, beginning the day after Thanksgiving, November 25th until December 10th.
Varieties & Prices: U-cut: Nobels $37 for all 5' to 7' trees ($3 per foot over 7'), Grands $30 any size and Dougs $20 any size.
This Farm has a nice gift shop with a generous portion of the profits going to Good Samaritan Ministries. Tree shaker available to get all bugs and lose needles off before you bring the tree into your car and home. They also have plenty of saws for customers to borrow and a baler to wrap your tree.

Furrow Farm, 25877 NW West Union Road, Hillsboro, OR, 97124. Phone: 503-647-5288.
Hours: the day after Thanksgiving: 9 am to dark. After Thanksgiving to December 24; Weekdays: Noon to dark. Weekends: 9 am to dark.
Varieties: U-Choose and Cut your own: Noble, Douglas-fir, Grand fir, Balsam, Fraser, Serbian spruce, Nobles up to 12' available.
Saws are provided, or they can cut a tree for you. Also wreaths and beverages are for sale and restrooms are available. Hay/wagon/Trailer rides and farm animals add to this fun Christmas time tradition. Trees can be baled for you for $2 fee.

Parry's Tree Farm, 45627 NW David Hill Road, Forest Grove, OR. 97116. Phone: 503-348-9601
Hours: from the day after Thanksgiving to December 23; Wednesday to Thursday: Noon to dark; Friday to Sunday: 8 am to dark. Closed: Monday - Tues.
Varieties: U-Choose and Cut your own: U-Cut: Noble fir, Grand fir, Douglas-fir. Growing and ready in 3 years are: Fraser and Nordmanns. Tree sizes range from 5'-14'
Parry's offers free hauling and cutting assistance but saws are provided for those who want to do it themselves. Shaking and baling are available for a small fee. They also have restrooms and a covered warming shed for those who need to rest after hauling their tree. Hot cocoa and spiced cider as well as candy canes for kids of all ages will satisfy your sweet tooth. Parry's also has tree stands and accessories for sale, fresh custom wreaths, precut trees and garland for sale.

Schmidlin Farms, 17955 NW Sellers Road, Banks, OR, 97106. Phone: 503-324-5420 or 503-324-0502
Hours: Weekends: 9 am to dusk
Varieties: U-Choose and Cut your own: Noble, Douglas-fir, Grand fir, Nordmann, Concolor, Turkish, Shasta fir, Norway spruce; Sizes from tabletop - 12 ft.
Schmidlin Farms will provide you with a saw or they can cut the tree for you. They also have restrooms and a tree baler. Pre-cut trees are also available.