Looking for a great Christmas tree? Take a hike ... and cut your own

Harvesting your own Christmas tree is a gift that gives twice over: save some money and create a memorable event for the whole family.

A trip to the mountains can be a great way to get the family outside, whether for a single purpose trip or tacking it on to a winter fishing, hiking or snowshoeing adventure.

Within two hours of Tri-Cities, there are all sorts of places to explore and find a Christmas tree to cut and take home.

All the national forests in Washington and Oregon allow do-it-yourself Christmas tree cutting through Dec. 24.

A $5 permit is required and can be purchased at any national forest ranger district and a number of designated retail vendors in the nearby towns. The permit usually limits one tree per household, but you can purchase permits for neighbors, family and friends and bring home more than one tree.

Be prepared for the roads and the weather. Study and plan your trip ahead of time. Identify the distance and the time needed to drive to your target area. One of the best ways to find an area is to aim at going to established, named trailheads along the main roads.

Plan on hiking up the hill slopes so you can easily drag your tree downhill to your car, avoiding logs and obstacles on the way down. This is way easier than pulling a tree up the hill.

Leave in the morning and make the best use of daylight hours. Let friends or family know where you’re going, and when you expect to be home. Check in with them when you can to keep people informed about your travel status. Contact them when you arrive home safely.

Make sure your car is equipped for snow with traction tires or chains, and take a shovel. Bring the right clothes for everyone: jackets, gloves, boots, gators, micro-spikes, snowshoes, the right saws and tools, rope, tarps — everything you need to get the tree back to your car and home safely.

Bring food, warm drinks, extra clothes, games and books to keep the kids occupied and entertained during the drive.

Christmas tree cutting rules vary by the national forest. Check the regulations for the locations you want. Cut your tree at least 50 feet — in some places at least 300 — from the road. Clean up any trimmings or limbs. Leave stumps no higher than 10 inches. You may need to dig out the snow to get low enough to the ground. It is illegal to “top” a tree.

Cut off any green limbs left on the stump. Take these home with you to use for wreaths and decorations. The maximum height of tree to be cut is 12 to 15 feet depending on the national forest.

Christmas tree cutting may be restricted in certain areas. Do not cut in active timber sales or areas that have been planted with new trees. Do not cut on private or state-owned land, in wilderness areas, national monument areas, designated campgrounds or existing tree plantations. Do not cut trees within 200 feet of ski areas, summer home sites, national forest work stations, or Forest Service guard stations, within 300 feet of streams, or in any other posted areas.

Getting access to some of the forest areas in the Cascades and the Blue Mountains can be challenging once the snow starts to fall. Most national forest roads close for the winter. Once that happens, snowmobiling or snowshoeing will be your only access on roads off the main highways and primary access roads.

If you park the car in a national forest, make sure you place your parking pass on the dashboard. If you park at a Sno-Park, you will need to have a special Sno-Park Pass.

When choosing a Christmas tree, try to pick a tree from among a group of trees so one area does not become void of trees.

Carry the tree carefully out of the woods. To make your trip back to the car easier, slide your tree on a plastic tarp. If the tree will not fit in the vehicle, wrap it in a tarp to prevent windburn and needle loss during the drive back home. Once you get your tree home, make a fresh cut on the butt of the trunk to open up the pores that have been clogged by sap. Cut off at least a half inch so the tree will be able to drink water. After the cut is made, put the tree in water as soon as possible. An average tree may consume between a quart and a gallon of water per day.

When you cut your tree, remember to punch out the month, day and year on the permit tag. Tags may not be re-used. Attach the Christmas tree tag where it is clearly visible on the tree. It should be attached before the tree is loaded on to your vehicle.

Here are some places for you to consider:

Wallowa-Whitman National Forest — access by way of Dayton or Pomeroy.

Umatilla National Forest, Walla Walla District — access via Highway 204

Wenatchee National Forest, Naches District — access via Highway 410 towards Chinook Pass and Highway 12 toward White Pass Forest Service Roads #1200, #1800 and #1900.

Okanagan Wenatchee National Forest, Entiat District — access via the Entiat Valley Road

Okanagan Wenatchee National Forest, Cle Elum District — access via Interstate 90 and Highway 97

Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Mt. Adams District — access via Trout Lake, Bingen and White Salmon

This story was originally published December 1, 2017 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Looking for a great Christmas tree? Take a hike ... and cut your own."