Where To Cut Down Your Own Christmas Tree 2024: Illinois Tree Farms

ILLINOIS — Chicago-area families who want to cut down their own Christmas tree have plenty of options to choose from. Whether you’re a die-hard traditionalist or a newbie looking to make memories for your family, there are 16 tree farms within driving distance from suburban Chicago where you can cut down your own tree.

Find a tree using this Patch list of tree farms in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. The cut-your-own tree season is short, so you better start making plans now.

Some tips before you go: Bring your own saw. While some farms will loan or rent tools, there's nothing worse than showing up with your kids and not having a saw or ax to cut down your tree. Also, bring cash or your checkbook. Many farms will not accept or are unable to process debit/credit cards.

DeKalb County

Tree Farm: Camelot Christmas Tree Farm

Hours of Operation: Opens at 9 a.m. Nov. 29; after that, noon to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Location: 16380 South Somonauk Road, DeKalb, IL

Cost: All Choose & Cut and Pre-Cut Christmas Trees are $80, cash or check only; no debit/credit cards accepted.

Details: Concolor, Fraser, Canaan, Douglas, balsam fir, blue and white spruce, white pine and Scotch pine available. Free shaking and baling. Saws and twine available. Well-behaved leashed pets are welcome.Phone: 815-756-6599

Tree Farm: Larson's Family Farm

Hours of Operation: Opens Nov. 29 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular hours from then on are 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays–Fridays; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, through Dec. 8, then closed for the season. LAST DAY OF CUTTING IS DEC. 8, 2024.

Location: 4404 Somonauk Road, Sandwich, IL

Cost: All Christmas trees are $62. No debit or credit cards.

Details: Larson's Family Farm offers more than 18 acres of cut-your-own Christmas trees in the following varieties: Canaan fir (like Fraser fir), Concolor fir, Douglas fir, Norway spruce, Scotch pine and white pine. Saws are provided for visitors. Shaking and baling provided. Afterward, stop by the Barn Store to browse the priced antiques and vintage Christmas decorations while enjoying hot apple cider. Pets have to stay in the car. The field is closed when it's raining; call ahead if it's snowing.

Phone: 815-786-2249 (leave a message for advanced orders)

DuPage County

Tree Farm: Puckerville Farms

Hours of Operation: Open for the season on Nov. 29, and open daily while supplies last from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

Location: 13332 Bell Road, Lemont, IL 60439

Details: Choose from the selection of Fraser firs ranging from 4 feet to 12 feet tall. New in 2021: Custom decorated wreaths, 25-foot garland selections and Christmas pot Fraser bundles also available. Trees are cut and trucked in from Michigan, and displayed on the Lemont farm. Trees range in price from $75 to $350. Tying them on your car is an extra. Credit/debit cards accepted.

Phone: 708-508-0906

Kane County

Tree Farm: Abbey Farms

Hours of Operation: Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, Nov. 23 through Dec. 23. Closed Thanksgiving Day and Mondays.

Location: 2855 Hart Road, Aurora, IL 60502

Cost: You-cut untagged trees, $65 (plus tax) for pines; $78 for spruce; specially tagged field where all trees are $55. Precut trees start at $78 and are priced by the foot.

Details: Over 120 acres of trees, including Scotch pine, white pine (limited in field), Austrian pine (very limited in field), Norway spruce (very limited in field), Canaan fir (very limited in field, pre-cut trees available), Balsam fir (pre-cut only), Frasier fir (pre-cut only) and Douglas fir (pre-cut only). Every tree comes with a complimentary shaking, netting and a doughnut for each group member. Saw rental is a refundable $10. Leashed pets are welcome. Free twine is available at each station. Also offering monk-made wreaths, a gift store stocked full of goodies and new Pine Tree Café offering made-from-scratch family recipes. Enjoy a glass of Abbey Ale, new this year. Also offering tractor wagon rides on select weekends, photos with Santa (for a fee) and gingerbread cookie decorating (more info at www.abbeyfarms.org). Reserve a time slot online for u-cut trees.

Phone: 630-966-7775

Lake County (Illinois)

Tree Farm: Sullivan Family Tree Farm

Hours of Operation: Opens at 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 29 for the 2024 season; open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 25 and Nov. 26, and Dec. 2 and Dec. 4, when the farm closes for the season.

Location: 24774 Petite Lake Road, Lake Villa

Details: You can still walk the rolling 20-acre farm to pick out a tree and cut it down yourself. Free hay rides will be offered to the field. Leashed dogs are welcome. Lots of photo ops if you want to take your Christmas card photo.

Prices: All choose-and-cut trees $60, no matter what the size.

Phone: 847-989-3092

McHenry County

Tree Farm: Richardson Farm

Hours of Operation: Open daily 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 29 through Dec. 22

Location: 9407 Richardson Road, Spring Grove

Cost: Cut-your-own trees are $95 to $300 plus tax, all heights and sizes, up to 6-feet, with some select trees as low as $45. Precut trees, individually priced, available up to 12' high; supply is limited.

Details: Voted the "Best Christmas Tree Farm in Illinois" by Good Housekeeping. On weekends, enjoy a free wagon ride, freshly made doughnuts and hot chocolate and concessions. Kettle corn is made fresh on site. The farm will even haul your tree out for you. There are also hundreds of fresh wreaths and decorations available for sale. Leashed, socialized dogs are welcome.

Phone: 815-675-9729

Tree Farm: Pioneer Tree Farm

Hours of Operation: Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 29, Nov. 30, Dec. 1; Dec. 7 and Dec. 8

Location: 4614 Pioneer Road, McHenry, IL 60050

Cost: Any tree, $1000. Cash or checks only; no debit or credit cards.

Details: Come out for an old-fashioned country Christmas. The farm has an excellent crop of pines, spruces, cedar and firs. Trees are organically grown and pruned by hand. Wagon rides to and from the pines, tree shaking and baling are included at no extra charge. Hand saws are also provided, or bring your own (no chain saws or axes, please). The Warming House will be open with handmade crafts for sale, with hot cocoa. There are chickens to feed, and a newly moved and assembled authentic log cabin to visit, along with other rustic, pioneer activities to enjoy. If you bring your dog, please keep it on a leash, and do not bring your pooch into the warming house. A portion of sales is donated to the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County, and most of the workers are volunteers from the Defenders.

Phone: 815-385-8512

Tree Farm: Ben's Christmas Tree Farm

Hours of Operation: Open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 29 to Nov. 30 and Dec. 7; open 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 1 and Dec. 8

Location: 7720 Ryan Road, Harvard, IL 60033

Cost: Pines start at $52 ($7 per foot with a 6.5-foot minimum); firs and spruces starting at $98 ($13 per foot for 6.5 minimum). Farm accepts cash or check; no debit/credit cards, but an ATM is available.

Details: Farm offers thousands of trees in nine varieties of firs and pines from 6 to 12 feet tall. Farm uses organic farming practices, and all trees are pesticide-free. The farm offers complimentary horse-drawn wagon rides, free shaking and baling, coffee and hot cocoa, farm animals and visits with Santa Claus. Fresh, handmade wreaths and greens items are also available. Fully decorated and decorate-your-own wreaths available made from fresh cultivated Fraser fir. The farm is pet-friendly, but dogs must be leashed.

Phone: 630-279-0216

Tree Farm: Pine-Apple Farm

Hours of Operation: Open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 29 through Dec. 1, and then on Saturday and Sundays; Call to check availability.

Location: 309 Three Oaks Road, Cary

Cost: Cash or check; small processing fee for credit cards. Pre-cut Fraser starting at $85, up to 9 feet. Cut-your-own: call for pricing.

Location: 309 Three Oaks Road, Cary, IL 60013

Details: Saws, shaking, baling, string and loading provided. Leashed, friendly dogs are fine. Website is no longer being used, visit Pine-Apple on Facebook.

Phone: 847-639-3248

Will County

Tree Farm: Anderson Tree Farm

Hours of Operation: Open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Location: 508 Illinois 126, Plainfield, IL

Details: There is a small selection of cut-your-own trees, mainly because Christmas trees are a ten-year crop and still growing. However, the farm is bringing in some nice Fraser fir trees from North Carolina. Shake and wrap provided. The field is open for cutting trees, but the farm prefers that customers buy the precut. Lots of lovely pre-cut Frasers available, $65 to $200, with wreaths, roping, free hot chocolate and a warming room with a fire pit to make s’mores and Alfredo’s Tacos. Call ahead and check for availability for cut-your-own.

Phone: 815-436-2140

Tree Farm: Tammen Treeberry Farm

Hours of Operation: Open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily starting Nov. 29, while supplies last.

Location: 37131 Essex Road, Wilmington, IL

Cost: $65 for any tree you cut yourself. There is a $10 charge for shaking and baling.

Details: Tammen Treeberry Farm is one of the largest choose-and-cut Christmas tree farms in Illinois, with 160 acres of Christmas trees. The price is $65 per tree regardless of size. If you wish to have the tree shaken and baled, there is a $10 charge for that.The farm has Scotch pine and white pine, Douglas, Fraser and balsam fir trees. The farm doesn’t have as many trees to sell, so the season may close early, so call ahead.

Phone: 815-458-6264

Winnebago County

Tree Farm: Williams Tree Farm

Hours of Operation: Open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily

Location: 4661 Yale Bridge Road, Rockton, IL

Cost: $22 for pines under 4 feet; 5 feet to 8 feet, $52; and $99 for pines 9 feet and taller; spruces and firs under 4 feet are $42; 5 to 8 feet $79, and 9 feet and up $128. Precut pines start at $11 per foot; spruce and firs $13 per foot. Shaking, 75-cents; baling, $1.25

Details: Roam 350 acres accompanied by one of the farm's friendly golden retrievers. Available are six varieties of trees, including white and Scotch pines; Canan, Fraser and balsam fir; and Colorado blue and Norway spruce. Take a hayride ($4), visit the gift shop, chat with Santa or dine in the Cabin Cafe. Ask about the farm’s wreaths, swag, garland and other decorative greenery.

Phone: 815-624-7579

Indiana

Tree Farm: Dudeck's Pine Country

Hours of Operation: 9 a.m. until dusk, Nov. 29 through Dec. 22

Location: 9255 N. 300 East, Rolling Prairie, IN

Cost: All firs range in price from $80 to $340 (6 to 17 feet); spruce $70 to $310 (6 to 17 feet); and white and Scotch pine $60 to $245 (6 to 16 feet). Pre-cut trees are also available.

Details: Take a horse-drawn wagon ride to choose from white pine, Norway spruce, Canaan fir and Frasier fir. Shaking, baling and tying to your car are free. Santa visits and horse-drawn hay rides available on the weekends (10 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT). Visit the gift shop for wreaths, garland and ornaments. The farm provides bow saws for cut-your-own trees and a tree measurer. Cash, check and credit cards (3 percent processing fee)

Phone: 219-778-4805

Wisconsin

Tree Farm: Valley View Tree Farm

Hours of Operation: 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, Nov. 23 through Dec. 17 (last day of sales).

Location: W798 Valley View Road, Burlington, WI 53105

Cost: Fraser, Balsam, Concolor and Nordmann fir: $12 per foot; Black Hills Spruce, Colorado Blue Spruce, Norway Spruce: $10 per foot; White pine: $8 per foot; Twine, shaking, baling (weather permitting) are complimentary. Credit cards accepted.

Details: Pets are welcome on a leash. The gift shop has been updated with a new vendor with super-cute holiday ornaments, gnomes, wreathes, stands and decor. Pre-order garland, wreaths and gnomes by texting 262-210-7234.

Tree Farm: Stumpf's Tree Farm

Hours of Operation: 9 a..m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 29, then on Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 22

Location: 340 Horns Corners Road, Cedarburg, WI 53012

Cost: Any you-cut tree is $85, baling and netting is $2, plus tax. Only cash and checks are accepted.

Details: The farm has a nice selection of 6 to 7-foot trees. Choose from Scotch pine, Meyers spruce, Black Hill spruce or Colorado blue spruce. The farm will provide a saw and tarp to drag the tree back to the barn and will shake the tree on their mechanical shaker to remove any debris and fallen needles. Twine is available to secure your tree to your vehicle. The farm has an indoor heated sales barn where hot apple cider is served. Other products available include fresh wreaths, door swags, boughs, large tree stands and disposal bags. No dogs are allowed.

Patch Editor Lorraine Swanson contributed to this article.