British Columbia, Canada Christmas Tree Farms 2024

Updates for April 2024

British Columbia Christmas Tree Permits

Members of the public are allowed to cut a Christmas Tree on Crown land for their own use! But you must obtain a "Free Use Permit for a Christmas Tree" from each Natural Resource District where they intend to cut, and it must be signed by the appropriate District Manager or designate. There is no charge for the permit, but there are some stipulations:.

The permit holder must:

• Carry the permit at all times;
• Read and understand the conditions of the permit prior to signing; and
• Produce the permit at the request of a Natural Resource Officer, Conservation Officer or Peace Officer.
• and you cannot cut a Christmas tree from, private lands, plantations, research areas, parks, areas adjacent to rivers, streams, lakes or swamps, juvenile-spaced areas and any other areas reserved for a special use.

Not all areas of the province have Christmas trees available for harvest. Each district is operated differently so please contact the individual districts where you plan on cutting for more information.

Permits Listed by District

To determine which district you are interested in a permit from, refer to the district/region map.

Permits Listed by District

If you need a district map, see the BC district and region map below.

• 100 Mile House (PDF)
• Campbell River (online form) | Map (PDF) | Bough Pruning Guidelines | Bough Pruning Map
• Cascades (PDF)
• Cariboo-Chilcotin District (PDF)
• Chilliwack District (no permit available)
• Coast Mountains District (PDF)
• Fort Nelson (no online permit)
• Haida Gwaii (no online permit)
• Mackenzie (PDF)
• Nadina (PDF)
• North Island-Central Coast (online form) | Port Hardy | Port McNeill
• Okanagan (PDF) | Information on Cutting Free Christmas Trees for Personal Use
• Peace (PDF)
• Prince George (PDF)
• Quesnel (PDF)
• Rocky Mountain (PDF)
• Sea to Sky (online form) | iMap Instructions for Christmas Tree Permits
• Selkirk (PDF)
• Sunshine Coast (PDF) | Powell River South | Saltery Bay | Texada | Sechelt North | Sechelt South
• Skeena Stikine (PDF)
• South Island (online form) | Cook Creek | Cowichan Valley | Port Alberni | West Coast | Choose and Cut Operations (PDF)
• Stuart-Nechako (PDF)
• Thompson Rivers District (Includes Headwaters Area) (PDF)

Questions?

If you have a question or require further information, contact your local natural resource district office.

Natural resource district contacts

Tips

• Leave home prepared--bring ropes, gloves, tools, tire chains, a first aid kit, phone and warm clothing
• Drive carefully--be prepared for logging trucks (PDF)
• Make sure you have found the tree you will use before cutting to avoid wasting forest resources, some permits specify only one tree can be cut.
• Do not leave a pointed stump as this may cause injury to livestock, wildlife, pets or humans.
• Choose a tree that can be cut near the base and is easy to transport, wasted tree remains left in the forest form a summer fire hazard.
• Clean up and remove all debris associated with your activity

For commercial Christmas tree farms see these pages:

• Central British Columbia
• Central-east British Columbia
• Delta-Surrey Area
• Fraser Valley
• Kootenay
• Langley area of British Columbia
• Maple Ridge area of British Columbia
• Northern British Columbia
• Okanagan
• Powell River, Comox Valley, Sunshine Coast areas
• Metro Vancouver and Richmond
• Vancouver Island