How and where to get a Christmas tree permit

Published 5:20 pm Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Permits are now available to cut your own Christmas tree on Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest land.

For the first time this year, kids in the fourth grade can get a free permit. The free permits are part of the Every Kid in a Park program, an effort to encourage kids and families to visit public lands.

To get a free permit, kids need to print a paper voucher from the Every Kid in a Park website, www.everykidinapark.gov. Bring the vouchers to a Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest office.

Otherwise, permits are $10 for a tree up to 12 feet tall. Taller trees require a $20 permit. The $10/12-foot-and-under permits also can be purchased at REI locations.

For information on where trees can be cut, and the most up-to-date information about road conditions and closures, check with the nearest Forest Service ranger station. Some roads are closed after recent storms. Access to most cutting areas is on dirt roads, and some roads may require high-clearance vehicles and 4-wheel drive. Be prepared for winter driving conditions and carry chains, a shovel and warm clothes.

Forester Lee Redmond, of Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, stresses that finding the right Christmas tree can be an all-day affair. At lower elevations, many trees are going to be too tall. Higher elevations might be snow-covered already.

Redmond said that people should avoid cutting hemlocks, which are a fire hazard indoors because they dry out so quickly. Hemlocks often have droopy tops and have flat needles — the needles are all on one plane on the branch, instead of resembling a bottle brush. (See what a hemlock looks like.)

Permits can be obtained at:

Verlot Public Service Center

33515 Mountain Loop Highway, Granite Falls; 360-691-7791

Weekends, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

Darrington Ranger Station

1405 Emens Ave. N., Darrington; 360-436-1155

Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Nov. 28, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 5, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 12, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Darrington Hardware

1220 State Route 530 NE, Darrington; 360-436-1260

Mondays-Saturdays, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Sundays 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Skykomish Ranger Station

74920 NE Stevens Pass Highway, Skykomish; 360-677-2414

Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Nov. 28, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 5, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 12, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

For more locations on U.S. 2, go to 1.usa.gov/1PXCcXT.

REI Alderwood store

3000 184th St. SW Lynnwood; 425-640-6200

Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Closed Nov. 27.

Seattle REI

222 Yale Ave. N. Seattle; 206-470-4060

Daily 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Closed Nov. 27.

Snoqualmie Ranger Station

902 SE North Bend Way, North Bend; 425-888-1421

Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Nov. 28-29, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Dec. 5-6, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Dec. 12-13, 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Mount Baker Ranger Station

810 State Route 20, Sedro-Woolley; 360-856-5700 Ext. 515

Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; Nov. 28, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 5, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dec. 12, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Glacier Public Service Center

Highway 542, Glacier; 360-599-2714

Weekends, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Cash, credit cards and checks are accepted at Forest Service stations and the Seattle and Alderwood REI stores. The Glacier and Verlot Public Service Centers accept only cash and checks.