Riehle’s Tree Farm

Every year, my family goes out and cuts a Christmas tree. I shudder to think what all may have gone wrong in the world if we had to pick one out from a lot or use a (gasp!) artificial one. Please understand, if you do something other than cut it yourself, that’s fine, I’m not judging, it’s just not what MY family does.
We’ve been coming to Riehle’s for years to kick off our holiday season and we’re so happy we did it, every time. It takes longer to get there for us than it does to actually locate THE tree and cut her down, but that’s not the point.
To get there, go west for awhile. Then go south for awhile. Use a GPS, and when you think you’re getting close, start watching for road signs that say where to enter. The last couple years the entrance has been in the same non-​descript place and you can’t even tell you’re in the right place, but it has moved since we started coming, so just pay attention. Oh, I should mention that if you have something other than a sedan or cute little car available to you, take that one. Or wait until it’s been below freezing for at least 5 days. There is inevitably mud. Follow the little road around and there will be folks pointing you in the direction of a parking spot. Hop out, get your warmies on, grab a saw from the pail by the baler, and if you know what kind of tree you’re looking for, ask a staffer which direction to go in. If you don’t know for sure, tell them what you like… short needles vs long needles, pine vs fir, etc. and they’ll point you in the right direction. If you don’t have a clue, just ask where you should go and wander around until you find THE tree.
Usually, you’ll know it when you see it. Once you’ve got it picked out and taken all the commemorative photos you need, maybe sang a round of Oh Tannenbaum or two, get on your hands and knees and cut that baby down! We usually try to cut as low as possible so we have enough room to cut a fresh cut at home before we put her up! Other things to know… if there’s a ribbon or flag, or any other form of third party (i.e. not from nature) marking on it, don’t cut it. It’s probably reserved for someone else. My family likes to use boughs in decorating as well so we’ll poke around for stumps that have already been cut, but some branches were left and we’ll snag some of those too. I’m not really sure if we’re supposed to, but no one has ever said anything and we only take boughs from a tree someone else already cut.
Then, if you want, haul your tree over for shaking and baling. Even if you don’t want to bale it, you should still shake it to get the dead needles out. We were anti-​baling for a very long time, and then we did it once and we were like, why don’t we do this all the time? It just wraps everything up a bit to it travels easier, gets in the house easier, etc. Then, tie her up on your vehicle! You’re on your own with this part… so bring bungees or rope. Head out toward the exit and pay for your tree on the way out! That’s it!
I really couldn’t tell you if the prices are reasonable. I think we pay between $ 25 and $ 40 every year, depending on the type of tree.
Feel free to bring candy canes and Christmas music to listen to and really get your season kicked off right!