Old-Fashioned Fun at Southwest Michigan Christmas Tree Farms

This holiday season, Southwestern Michigan is the place to be for folks who want to choose a "real" Christmas tree, fresh-cut from the scenic, rolling countryside at one of the region's sprawling, family-centered tree farms.

Whether you're preserving a family tradition, or beginning a new tradition ... you can count on memory-making when you spend a day or evening surrounded by tens of thousands of balsams, firs, pines and spruces ... warmed by steamy hot chocolate or hot cider ... delighting in the very best scents, sounds and sensations that a true rural Christmas outing can offer.

Some of our tree farms offer moonlight hayrides and sleigh-rides, a horse-drawn adventure into the deep woods where the tiny seedlings take root and grow up to grace our homes on Christmas Eve.

Here, too, you'll find petting zoos, hand-crafted furniture for sale, a dazzling array of festive wreaths and roping, stocking stuffers and more! Even Santa Claus gets into the act, as many tree farms offer Santa weekends, where youngsters may share their lists and have their photos taken with the Jolly Old Elf.

Pinecrest Christmas Tree Farm

For old-fashioned Christmas fun for the whole family, choose from the cut-your-own traditions rich at Galien's Pinecrest Christmas Tree Farm off historic U. S. 12 near Three Oaks in Berrien County.

Select and collect your prime Scotch Pine tree at Pinecrest, or take a few minutes to browse the Christmas shop after an afternoon hayride through the gorgeous countryside near Spring Creek. Or sip free hot chocolate while you explore a huge selection of fresh pre-cut wreaths trees: pine, fir, or spruce.

Pinecrest Christmas Tree Farm is at 4403 Spring Creek Road in Galien, Michigan, three miles east of Three Oaks. They're open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Phone 269-545-8125. GPS [41.7619° N, 86.5589° W]

Yule-Tide Acres Nursery & Christmas Tree Farm

"Choose and cut" is the watchword at Yule-Tide Acres, where you design your own experience. The variety is wide, as thousands of fragrant Scotch Pine, Douglas Fir and Blue Spruce stand waiting for the holidays!

Spring, summer and fall, Yule-Tide is a top-quality plant nursery, offering an extensive line of hardy perennial plants suited to Michigan's sometimes brutal winters. Come November, the tree farm transforms into an old-fashioned Christmas land!

You'll find Yule-Tide at 8466 M-62 in Berrien Center, two miles east of Eau Claire, Michigan. Contact Roger and Charlene Bishop at 269-461-3111. The tree farm is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. April through October; 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. November and December.
GPS [41.9849° N, 86.2536° W]

Butler Tree Farm

Old-fashioned outdoor fun is always in season at Butler Tree Farm ... but Christmas transforms this huge family-run operation into a destination location for thousands of locals and tourists alike!

The numbers are awesome: a full 100 acres of nothing but Christmas trees, plus acres more of simply fun things to do and see! Butler's offers eight varieties of 20,000 trees in all growing stages on 20 acres as well as 30,000 Fraser Fir on an additional 80 acres for your choose-n-cut selection!

Here you'll also find a bake shop, fresh hot cocoa and cider, sleigh rides, a children's zoo with goats, llamas, sheep and other friendly barnyard friends, a wonderful gift shop and a trip down Candy Lane to meet and greet Santa Claus!

Although the campground is open year-round, the Butler's run the tree farm Thanksgiving Friday to Christmas Eve, Mondays through Fridays, 2 p.m. until dark, and Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m. until dark.

Butler Tree Farm is at 21515 Crane Street in Dowagiac, Michigan. You can reach them by phoning 269-782-4650.