Illinois tree farms › Ben's Christmas Tree Farm
Ben's Christmas Tree Farm
Harvard, Illinois · McHenry County
Opens Nov 27
Opens November 27.
Ben came out from Chicago in 1982 with an MBA and 55 acres outside Harvard, and the family never left. His sons Chris and Justin run it now, across a hundred acres. Nothing here gets herbicide or pesticide and never has — that was the rule long before anyone thought to put it on a sign. Eight varieties grow in the fields, more than 10,000 of them Fraser fir.
It's about an hour from the western suburbs and the drive is half the tradition: saws and twine come with the tree, wagon rides out to the fields are free, and Santa turns up with the horse-drawn wagon between ten and three. Firs and spruces start at $98 and pines at $52, with a six-and-a-half-foot minimum. This is one of the few Illinois farms that has already named an opening day for this season — November 27.
The facts
- Cut-your-own Fraser firs and Canaan firs
- Either 9–4:30 or 10–4:30 depending on the day — the farm posts a day-by-day calendar for November and December. Saws and twine come with the tree; cash, check and cards all work.
- Also at the farm: free wagon rides to the fields, horse-drawn wagon rides, Santa on weekends, hot cocoa
- Opening day: November 27
Checked Aug 15 against the farm's own site