From a national forest to Washington
The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Every tree since 1970
Every year one national forest picks a giant tree, cuts it, and drives it across the country to stand on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The Forest Service has sent one every year since 1970, and in 2026 it comes from Idaho: a 76-foot Engelmann spruce from the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests.
From Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Christmas Tree page, U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree official site, AOC blog, Jim Kaufmann, Aug. 13, 2026 with September editor's note and East Idaho News, Oct. 26, 2026, harvest story, read Nov 11, 2026.
2026: the tree that got swapped
The first pick, on Aug. 13, 2026, was an 80-foot grand fir on the Salmon River Ranger District, chosen by the Architect of the Capitol's Jim Kaufmann from "over 60 candidate trees." It would have been the first grand fir on the whole list. Then it "began showing signs of needlecast disease," a fungus that yellows the needles, and couldn't make a healthy trip.
From U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, Aug. 13, 2026 release on selection, AOC blog, Jim Kaufmann, Aug. 13, 2026 with September editor's note and Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Christmas Tree page, read Nov 11, 2026.
So the forest found a replacement: a 76-foot Engelmann spruce from the Lochsa-Powell Ranger District, cut near Musselshell Meadows outside Weippe. Its tour started Oct. 29 in Grangeville. It's Idaho's third Capitol tree, after the Boise in 2003 and the Payette in 2016, and an Idaho fourth grader from Salmon won the essay contest to help light it.
From U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree official site, AOC blog, Jim Kaufmann, Aug. 13, 2026 with September editor's note, East Idaho News, Oct. 26, 2026, harvest story and East Idaho News, Oct. 21, 2026, read Nov 11, 2026.
How far is the trip? The official tree site says both "more than 2,000-mile" and "nearly 3,000-mile" in different places, so we can't give you one number.
From U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree official site, read Nov 11, 2026.
How it started
The tradition began in 1964 with a live 24-foot Douglas-fir "purchased for $700" and planted at the Capitol. It was damaged by a windstorm in 1967 and died in 1968. Since 1970 the Forest Service has supplied a cut tree each year, decorated with handmade ornaments from its home state, about 5,000 of them by the Architect of the Capitol's count.
From Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Christmas Tree page, read Nov 11, 2026.
Records and repeats
Tallest: 88 feet, twice: an Engelmann spruce from the Colville National Forest in 2013 and a white spruce from the Chippewa in 2014.
From Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Christmas Tree page, read Nov 11, 2026.
Most often: the Monongahela, Pisgah, Green Mountain and Ottawa have each sent three.
From Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Christmas Tree page, read Nov 11, 2026.
Not every tree came from a national forest: Minnesota's Nemadji State Forest sent 1977's, Maryland's Savage River State Forest 1978's, and a Vermont wildlife management area 1982's.
From Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Christmas Tree page, read Nov 11, 2026.
The usual tree: a spruce. 39 of the 57 trees from 1970 to 2026 are spruces, and Engelmann spruce alone has gone 12 times, counting 2026.
From Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Christmas Tree page and AOC blog, Jim Kaufmann, Aug. 13, 2026 with September editor's note, read Nov 11, 2026.
Shortest: the first, a 40-foot Norway spruce from West Virginia's Monongahela in 1970.
From Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Christmas Tree page, read Nov 11, 2026.
Not to be confused with the National Christmas Tree
The National Christmas Tree, on the Ellipse near the White House, is a different tree, and the National Park Service runs it. The first, in 1923, was a cut 48-foot balsam fir from Vermont that Calvin Coolidge lit on Christmas Eve. In 1962 that year's National Christmas Tree came from the San Isabel National Forest area and was loaded on a train at Salida, Colo., and its lowest 15 feet of branches "wouldn't fold and so they were cut off."
From NPS, 1923 National Christmas Tree and National Archives, Cody White, Dec. 15, 2020, read Nov 11, 2026.
Every Capitol tree since 1970
From Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Christmas Tree page, AOC blog, Jim Kaufmann, Aug. 13, 2026 with September editor's note and East Idaho News, Oct. 26, 2026, harvest story, read Nov 11, 2026.
| Year | Tree | Height | Forest | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Engelmann spruce | 76 ft | Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests | Idaho |
| 2025 | Red fir | 53 ft | Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest | Nevada |
| 2024 | Sitka spruce | 80 ft | Tongass National Forest | Alaska |
| 2023 | Norway spruce | 63 ft | Monongahela National Forest | West Virginia |
| 2022 | Red spruce | 78 ft | National Forests in North Carolina (Pisgah) | North Carolina |
| 2021 | White fir | 84 ft | Six Rivers National Forest | California |
| 2020 | Engelmann spruce | 55 ft | Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests | Colorado |
| 2019 | Blue spruce | 60 ft | Carson National Forest | New Mexico |
| 2018 | Noble fir | 80 ft | Willamette National Forest | Oregon |
| 2017 | Engelmann spruce | 79 ft | Kootenai National Forest | Montana |
| 2016 | Engelmann spruce | 80 ft | Payette National Forest | Idaho |
| 2015 | Lutz spruce | 74 ft | Chugach National Forest | Alaska |
| 2014 | White spruce | 88 ft | Chippewa National Forest | Minnesota |
| 2013 | Engelmann spruce | 88 ft | Colville National Forest | Washington |
| 2012 | Engelmann spruce | 73 ft | White River National Forest | Colorado |
| 2011 | Sierra white fir | 65 ft | Stanislaus National Forest | California |
| 2010 | Engelmann spruce | 67 ft | Bridger-Teton National Forest | Wyoming |
| 2009 | Blue spruce | 85 ft | Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests | Arizona |
| 2008 | Subalpine fir | 78 ft | Bitterroot National Forest | Montana |
| 2007 | Balsam fir | 55 ft | Green Mountain National Forest | Vermont |
| 2006 | Pacific silver fir | 65 ft | Olympic National Forest | Washington |
| 2005 | Engelmann spruce | 60 ft | Santa Fe National Forest | New Mexico |
| 2004 | Red spruce | 70 ft | George Washington and Jefferson National Forests | Virginia |
| 2003 | Engelmann spruce | 65 ft | Boise National Forest | Idaho |
| 2002 | Douglas-fir | 70 ft | Umpqua National Forest | Oregon |
| 2001 | White spruce | 74 ft | Ottawa National Forest | Michigan |
| 2000 | Colorado blue spruce | 65 ft | Pike National Forest | Colorado |
| 1999 | White spruce | 70 ft | Nicolet National Forest | Wisconsin |
| 1998 | Fraser fir | 50 ft | Pisgah National Forest | North Carolina |
| 1997 | Black Hills spruce | 63 ft | Black Hills National Forest | South Dakota |
| 1996 | Engelmann spruce | 75 ft | Manti-La Sal National Forest | Utah |
| 1995 | Douglas-fir | 60 ft | Plumas National Forest | California |
| 1994 | Balsam fir | 58 ft | Green Mountain National Forest | Vermont |
| 1993 | White fir | 65 ft | San Bernardino National Forest | California |
| 1992 | White spruce | 62 ft | Chippewa National Forest | Minnesota |
| 1991 | Blue spruce (live) | 60 ft | Carson National Forest | New Mexico |
| 1990 | Engelmann spruce | 65 ft | Routt National Forest | Colorado |
| 1989 | Engelmann spruce | 60 ft | Kootenai National Forest | Montana |
| 1988 | Balsam fir | 50 ft | Manistee National Forest | Michigan |
| 1987 | Norway spruce | 60 ft | Wayne-Hoosier National Forest | Ohio |
| 1986 | Shasta red fir | 54 ft | Klamath National Forest | California |
| 1985 | White spruce | 56 ft | Ottawa National Forest | Michigan |
| 1984 | White spruce | 58 ft | Superior National Forest | Minnesota |
| 1983 | White spruce | 52 ft | Chequamegon National Forest | Wisconsin |
| 1982 | Balsam fir | 50 ft | Riley Bostwich Wildlife Management Area | Vermont |
| 1981 | White spruce | 50 ft | Hiawatha National Forest | Michigan |
| 1980 | White spruce | 48 ft | Green Mountain National Forest | Vermont |
| 1979 | White spruce | 52 ft | Nicolet National Forest | Wisconsin |
| 1978 | Norway spruce | 60 ft | Savage River State Forest | Maryland |
| 1977 | White spruce | 52 ft | Nemadji State Forest | Minnesota |
| 1976 | Red spruce | 41 ft | Monongahela National Forest | West Virginia |
| 1975 | Balsam fir | 41 ft | Ottawa National Forest | Michigan |
| 1974 | Fraser fir | 41 ft | Pisgah National Forest | North Carolina |
| 1973 | White spruce | 51 ft | Allegheny National Forest | Pennsylvania |
| 1972 | Balsam fir | 50 ft | Cherokee National Forest | Tennessee |
| 1971 | Black spruce | 45 ft | White Mountain National Forest | New Hampshire |
| 1970 | Norway spruce | 40 ft | Monongahela National Forest | West Virginia |
From Architect of the Capitol, Capitol Christmas Tree page, U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree official site, AOC blog, Jim Kaufmann, Aug. 13, 2026 with September editor's note and East Idaho News, Oct. 26, 2026, harvest story, read Nov 11, 2026.
Written by More Than Just Parks from the agencies' own pages, read Nov 11, 2026. The permit you buy, and the map and rules printed on it, govern. Not a permit, not the agency.