Cut Your Own Christmas Tree Near Boulder: Permit Lottery Now Open

BOULDER, CO — Hoping to cut your own Christmas tree in Boulder County this holiday season?

Community members can now enter to purchase a permit for cutting a lodgepole pine tree at Reynolds Ranch Open Space (11212 Magnolia Road, Nederland) on Saturday, Dec. 4 and Sunday, Dec. 5.

Boulder County Parks & Open Space staff will grant 100 permits through a random lottery. Applications for the lottery are open through Nov. 14, and all entrants will be told whether they won on Nov. 15.

Winners will have until Nov. 28 to purchase one $20 permit, and permit holders will be assigned a specific date and time (9-11 a.m. or 1-3 p.m. on Dec. 4 or Dec. 5). Sessions will be held regardless of weather conditions, Parks & Open Space staff said.

If any permits are available after the deadline, people on the waitlist will be notified of their availability on Nov. 29.

"The tree cutting will be limited to designated areas on Reynolds Ranch Open Space as the purpose of this opportunity is to thin lodgepole pine trees in specific areas," officials said.

The trees are "not what you find at stores or Christmas tree lots," officials said, as those trees are usually grown and pruned specifically to create full and symmetric trees.

"These lodgepole pines are between 3 and 8 feet tall, might have weaker limbs, and might not look as full as typical Christmas trees," officials wrote on their website. "But they have excellent needle retention, look unique, and you will have the satisfaction of helping with forest management efforts."

Permit holders will need to supply their own materials to cut down and transport their tree, including a handsaw, straps and ropes.

Apply for a permit here.