U-Cut Christmas Tree Farms in Petaluma

If you want to have the experience of choosing and cutting down your own Christmas tree, you're going to have to pack up the family truckster and head north on 101 to visit our neighbors in Sonoma County. There, you'll find a selection of Christmas tree farms mostly concentrated in the rural areas of western Petaluma and Sebastopol.

In this article we highlight our recent visits to the three Christmas tree farms located in Petaluma: Little Hills Christmas Tree Farm, Larsen's Christmas Tree Farm, and Liberty Christmas Tree Farm. Check back later for our report from the tree farms further north in Sebastopol.

Little Hills Christmas Tree Farm

Every holiday season we make a point of visiting Little Hills Christmas Tree Farm in Petaluma. One of the most picturesque tree farms in the area, Little Hills Christmas Tree Farm is fairly close to downtown Petaluma on Chapman Lane, off Western Avenue on the northwest side of town. As is to be expected on the weekend after Thanksgiving, Little Hills was busy and bustling. Parking is in a lot at the entrance to the farm. It's a surprisingly big setup, and offers a wide selection of mostly Monterey pines, with some cypresses and redwoods thrown in for good measure. Like most local tree farms, Little Hills also offers pre-cut Noble, Turkish, and Douglas firs. Little Hills is owned by the Mungle family, who also run Liberty Christmas Tree Farm a few miles to the north.

The highlight of our trip to Little Hills is always the visit with Santa Claus, who shows up for photo ops and the all important lap time on weekends from 10 am to 4 pm. We also hit their holiday boutique, which features a huge array of Christmas tree ornaments and holiday home decor, where we let the children each pick out an ornament for our tree this year.

There's also a farm area with a number of animals you can visit, including some donkeys, goats, geese, and Bubbles the pig, complete with muddy pig pen. There's a snack bar there, too, serving up drinks like hot cider, candy, and popcorn. (Coffee for the grownups is free.) Other offerings include tree stands, wreaths, and garlands, and they'll shake and net your tree for easy transportation. They also have flocked trees, in case faux snow is your thing. Choose-and-cut trees cost $43.95 each, regardless of size, and pre-cut trees, ranging in size from tabletop to giant, are priced individually.

Little Hills Christmas Tree Farm is located at 961 Chapman Lane in Petaluma, and is open Friday through Sunday from 9 to 5 pm. Information: (707) 763-4678 or www.littlehillchristmastree.com

Larsen's Christmas Tree Farm

Larsen's Christmas Tree Farm is very close to downtown Petaluma, at 391 Marshall Avenue between Skillman Lane and Magnolia Avenue. It's usually quite busy, probably owing to the fact that it's so easy to get to, and we even had a difficult time getting a parking space. Larsen's is a pretty big place, and everyone there seemed to be having a really good time. They've got an extensive selection of trees, and a charming spot with little bridges crossing a (currently dry) stream running through the property. There's also a shed offering Christmas tree stands and accessories, free coffee, and baked goods for sale by a local Girl Scout troop.

Most of the cut-it-yourself trees at Larsen's were Monterey pines. They did have a few redwoods, cypress, and Douglas firs growing, too, as well as a pretty large selection of pre-cut Noble, Turkish, and Douglas firs. Choose-and-cut trees cost $42.95 regardless of size, and pre-cut trees are priced individually. Tree-shaking ($2.70) and netting services ($2.78) were available, too. Larsen's Christmas Tree Farm is open on Fridays from 10 am to dusk and weekends from 9 am to dusk. More information: (707) 762-6317.

Liberty Christmas Tree Farm

On the way out of Larsen's, you'll see a sign promoting Liberty ChristmasTree Farm. Located north of Larsen's at 241 Liberty Road, Liberty offers mostly Monterey pines and Douglas firs as cut-it-yourself trees, along with plenty of pre-cut Douglas and Noble firs. There was also a small red shed that housed some beautiful decorated Christmas trees, all of the ornaments on which were for sale. They also had wreaths and tree stands and an urn with free hot cider. Everyone here was really nice and tried hard to make sure customers had a good time.

The usual shaking and netting services were available here as well. Like the other farms, the cut-it-yourself trees were priced at a flat amount, in this case for $42.99 Monterey pines and Sierra redwoods, and $49.99 for Douglas firs. Pre-cut Noble firs were priced individually. Liberty Christmas Tree Farm is open weekends from 9 am to 5 pm. More information: www.libertychristmastreefarm.com or (707) 490-6011.

Getting There

To get to Larsen's and Liberty Christmas tree farms, head north on US 101, and take the Penngrove exit. Head west over the freeway onto Petaluma Boulevard North, and follow it to Skillman Lane. Turn right on Skillman. To get to Larsen's Christmas Tree Farm, head west on Skillman, then turn left on Marshall Avenue. Follow Marshall south; Larsen's will be on your right. There are plenty of signs directing you to Larsen's from the moment you hit Petaluma Boulevard, so it's pretty easy to find. To reach Liberty Christmas Tree Farm, follow Skillman Lane west all the way to Liberty Road. Head north on Liberty until you reach Liberty Christmas Tree Farm, which will be on your right. It's across from the old Liberty Cemetery.