How this works
79 national forests list a 2026 Christmas tree permit on Recreation.gov, and 65 Bureau of Land Management offices list one in BLM's permit store. We read both on Nov 12, 2026 and print what they say: the dates, the price, the limit and the rules, each with its source. Sale times are in each place's own time zone. Recreation.gov prints them in Eastern, and we convert. A permit is the agency's to sell, and the rules on it are the agency's. We quote them and link them. We don't sell permits, and nothing here is one.
2 forests have pages on Recreation.gov with no permit type named and no dates on them. We print what the page says and no date. 53 more Forest Service units and 50 BLM field offices don't list a permit in either store. We say "not posted yet" for those, never "no program": some sell at the office and never post one online. Distances are straight lines to a forest's boundary, not to the cutting area and not by road. The forest's own map shows where you can cut. How we read the agencies · Not a permit, not the agency
Read from the agencies Nov 12, 2026
Christmas tree permits near Boise 10 places within 100 miles
6 of them sell a permit today. The nearest national forest is the Boise National Forest, about 7 miles from Boise in a straight line, and it's on sale today. The nearest that publishes its own cutting-area map is BLM's Four Rivers Field Office.
National forests, nearest first
- Sawtooth National ForestAbout 50 milesSales open Nov 13, 8 a.m. MountainNov 13 to Dec 31cutting days$10 per tree
- Salmon-Challis National ForestAbout 70 milesOn sale nowOct 12 to Dec 31cutting daysOn the permit pageRecreation.gov's records disagree
BLM offices, nearest first
- BLM Four Rivers Field OfficeIts area takes in BoiseSales open Nov 15Nov 15 to Dec 25cutting daysOn the permit page
- BLM Owyhee Field OfficeIts area starts about 25 miles outSales open Nov 15Nov 15 to Dec 25cutting daysOn the permit page
- BLM Vale DistrictIts area starts about 40 miles outOn sale nowNov 9 to Dec 25cutting daysOn the permit page
- BLM Shoshone Field OfficeIts area starts about 55 miles outSales open Nov 15Nov 15 to Dec 25cutting daysOn the permit page
- BLM Burns DistrictIts area starts about 95 miles outOn sale nowNov 1 to Dec 25cutting daysOn the permit page
Opening next near Boise
The Sawtooth National Forest opens sales Nov 13, 8 a.m. Mountain.
Ranger districts nearest Boise
Mountain Home Ranger District, about 7 miles. Office: (208) 587-7961.
Idaho City Ranger District, about 15 miles. Office: (208) 392-3700.
Emmett Ranger District, about 30 miles. Office: (208) 365-7000.
Lowman Ranger District, about 35 miles. Office: (208) 259-3361.
Cascade Ranger District, about 55 miles. Office: (208) 382-7400.
Fairfield Ranger District, about 50 miles. Office: (208) 764-3202.
Council Ranger District, about 55 miles. Office: (208) 253-0100.
Salmon-Challis National Forest
Middle Fork Ranger District, about 70 miles. Challis-Yankee Fork & Middle Fork Ranger Districts: (208) 879-4100.
Districts from the Forest Service's ranger district layer, read Nov 11, 2026. Offices from each permit's listing on Recreation.gov, read Nov 12, 2026.
Every distance here is a straight line from the Census Bureau's point for Boise City city (read Nov 11, 2026) to a boundary, not road miles and not to the trees. The forest's own map shows where you can cut.
What locals say
Around Idaho City, locals name Granite Creek north of town, the Mores Creek Summit trailhead, Edna Creek and Forest Road 327 toward the North Fork of the Boise River. Expect mostly pines there.
From KIVI Boise, "Families can cut down a Christmas tree in the Boise National Forest", r/Boise, "Christmas Tree Permits" (2022), r/Boise, "Cutting down a Christmas Tree." (2025), KIVI Boise, "Tips for cutting down a Christmas Tree in the Boise National Forest" (reporter's own trip) and r/Boise, "Good place to chop down a Christmas tree?" (2022), read Nov 11, 2026.
They also warn that the roadside along Bogus Basin Road is closed to cutting. Drive on to places like Boise Ridge Road.
From r/Boise, "Is it legal to cut trees down off of bogus basin road" (2025) and r/Boise, "Good place to chop down a Christmas tree?" (2022), read Nov 11, 2026.

