Cut your own tree at area farms

With Christmas just a few weeks away, families are out hunting and choosing the perfect tree. There are a plenty of pre-cut tree-lot options available. But if you want a truly fresh tree – and a different kind of experience – it's time to head for the hills of Applegate or even Alta.The Red Feather Tree Farm in Applegate offers 40 acres of Christmas trees to choose from. Once you pull up, you are given a lesson on the proper way to cut a tree, preserving the base for future growth. After instructions, you board a four-wheel vehicle and are driven out into the 40 acres, where you are let off in their tree forest and the hunt begins. Picking out a fresh-cut tree has become a family tradition for many. "We've been coming up for 23 years to Red Feather to pick and cut our tree," said Wayne Beck, of Rocklin. "It has been a great family tradition, something we look forward to."Picnic tables are located throughout the farm and families are encouraged to take along a lunch, if desired. On weekends, you can visit Santa Claus to ask him for your No. 1 wish for Christmas. At Red Feather, you can choose from five varieties of trees, including Scotch pine, white fir, cedar, redwood and Douglas fir, which is the most popular.According to Kathy Bravo, an employee at the Red Feather, a fresh-cut tree will last well beyond Christmas."We suggest to drop your tree into a bucket of warm water to open up the cells and sap flow so the tree can drink water and keep it fresh," Bravo said.A Douglas fir tree grows the fastest of all the verities, but it takes about eight years to mature into a six-foot tree. The Red Feather Tree Farm plants 5,000 trees annually in the spring and they sell roughly around 1,500 per year, according to manager Bob Sutherland. Many of Red Feather's trees are on drip system that promotes tree growth, according to Sutherland.If a Douglas fir is not to your liking, you can travel a bit further up Interstate 80 into Alta to visit the Little Bear Creek Tree Farm, where they offer silver tip and white fir Christmas trees. People looking for the giant trees often make their way to Little Bear Creek as they are known for having trees beyond 10 feet tall, even up to 35 feet tall. The Combs family, visiting from Fairfield, picked up a 12-foot white fir.Silver tip trees need a cold environment, including snow, which is why they grow above the 3,500-foot elevation, according to Joe Weinert. Little Bear Creek plants approximately 4,000 trees per year, mostly silver tips. "People really want the experience of being out in nature and selecting that perfect tree," Weinert said.Jake Padilla, of Auburn, said he has been visiting Little Bear Creek with his family since 1985, and is now starting his own tradition with his 2-year-old daughter, Novalyn."I like coming up with my family to Little Bear. We have been coming since I was 5," Padilla said. "When we cut a tree, it lasts a long time, and it smells so good, too."At the Little Bear Creek Tree Farm, there are plenty of other activities to entertain the family, such as hiking through the trails and visiting their onsite quartz mine, enjoying a cup of hot cocoa by the fire, a gift store to pick up crafted gifts, and a ride into the forest singing carols in their vintage Jeep trucks.---------------------------CHOOSE-AND-CUT TREE FARMSWhere: Red Feather Farm, 2100 Red Feather Circle, ApplegateOpen: 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekends, through Dec. 21Phone: (530) 878-1397Where: Little Bear Creek Tree Farm, 960 Meadow Road, AltaOpen: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, through Dec. 24Phone: (530) 389-8989Where: Meadow Vista Tree Farm, 1291 Meadow Vista Road, Meadow VistaOpen: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, through Dec. 17Phone: (530) 878-7210