Double Creek Farm

Choose and cut a Virginia pine or Carolina Sapphire

Start with a hayride out to the fields. You are handed a saw, a measuring stick and a tree tag, and the farm has everything you need to measure, cut and tie your tree; no power saws are allowed. Pick your tree and cut it, tag it and tear off the bottom portion of the tag, then put the tree on the hayride trailer.

Back at the Tree Shaking Area, your tree is measured, shaken and baled. Pay in the gift shop, then drive to the loading area, where attendants give you your tree in exchange for your paid tag. Tree tags must match, and a tree you cut is yours to buy: there are no refunds or exchanges.

Cut-your-own prices by height

Trees are priced by their measured height: $10 per foot for trees under 10 feet, then $14 per foot from 10 feet. Trees under 5 feet are not for sale; if you cut one, the minimum charge is $50, and there are no refunds or exchanges for a tree you cut.

Ask the farm whether Carolina Sapphire is priced the same as Virginia pine, and whether shaking and baling carry a charge.

Pre-cut firs, wreaths and special trees

If you would rather not cut, the farm also sells pre-cut Balsam fir, Concolor fir, Fraser fir and Blue Spruce from Michigan, measured and priced tree by tree. If you pick one, tear off the bottom tag and give it to the attendant at the Tree Shaking Area. Pre-cut trees and wreaths are sold while supplies last.

Handmade wreaths are priced individually; remove the tag and pay in the gift shop. The farm's Charlie Brown trees are special trees marked in the field with a specially marked trunk; they are tagged and priced. Pull the bottom tag off, cut the tree and load it on the hayride, and it is shaken and baled like the others. Ask the farm for prices on pre-cut trees, wreaths and special trees.

Season dates and hours

The tree farm opens on Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, from 10am to 5pm. After that it is open on Saturdays from 10am to 5pm and on Sundays from 1pm to 5pm, on the dates below, and it is not open any other Fridays during the season.

Ask the farm about any dates after Sunday, December 13.

Hayrides, play areas, the fire pit and the gift shop

There is no admission fee. Activities at the farm include hayrides, a playhouse, a fort, a sandbox, a bounce house, games, photo spots and a rubber-duck race, and the fire pit is lit weather permitting. There are picnic tables beside the fire pit area. Bring marshmallows or hot dogs to roast; the farm has the fire and the roasting sticks. Ask the farm for the price of the ducks for the duck race.

The gift shop is a rustic cabin with seasonal items from local artisans, such as handmade gifts, jellies, Christmas ornaments and books, and it is where you pay for your tree. Drinks, snacks and concessions are also for sale; the farm mentions hot chocolate and spiced cider by the fire, so ask the farm whether those are free or priced.

Photos, dogs, payment and getting there

Families are welcome to take all the photos they like while choosing and cutting a tree. Professional photographers need an appointment made in advance and pay a venue fee of $50 per hour or $200 per day, with a 5-hour maximum, by cash or credit card and no checks; props have to be carried in, and when the farm is not open to the public, families must leave right after the photo session and the activities are not open for play. Ask the farm to confirm the current fee when you book.

Dogs are welcome on a leash. The farm takes cash and credit cards. To find it from the Walmart on US Highway 190, turn north onto Highway 59 and go 4 miles, then turn onto Oakdale Loop and go 1.2 miles; the farm is beside North Old Israel Road. The farm also runs a pumpkin patch in October, which has ended by the time the trees go on sale.

Contacts

Call the farm at (936) 967-3912 for tree sales and general questions, or email doublecreekfarm@eastex.net.

• Double Creek Farm website ↗
• Double Creek Farm on Facebook ↗