Ellms Family Farm

Ballston Spa, New York · Saratoga County

Opens Nov 27 usual opening — confirm for 2026

Usually opens the Friday after Thanksgiving (Nov 27) — the farm hasn’t posted its 2026 dates yet, so confirm before you drive.

Ellms runs one of the Capital Region's biggest fall festivals, then turns the same Saratoga County fields over to Christmas trees the Friday after Thanksgiving. Fraser, balsam, and concolor firs, cut-your-own or fresh-cut off the rack, and no admission charge to walk in.

The price of the tree covers everything else: a trolley ride out to the rows, hot chocolate when you come back in, and shaking, baling, and a drilled trunk if your stand needs one. Weekends open at 10 and draw the crowd; Friday and Monday start at 11 and stay calm.

The season has run to about December 21 in past years, and by the last weekend the good Frasers are picked over — go in the first two weeks if you're fussy about shape.

The facts

Cut-your-own Fraser firs and Balsam firs; pre-cut too
Fri and Mon 11–4:30, Sat and Sun 10–4:30, running to about December 21. No admission charge for the tree farm.
No reservation needed
Also at the farm: trolley rides, hot chocolate, free shaking, baling & drilling

Checked Sep 4 against the farm's own site

What's open this weekend in New York →

All New York farms, by region →

Christmas tree disposal and recycling in New York

The other end of the same trip: when the tree comes down in January, disposal and recycling are a city job and the rules change at the city line — here is who takes it in Albany · New York · Rochester · Syracuse · Yonkers — or Christmas tree disposal in every city we cover →

How do I dispose of a Christmas tree in New York?: Not at the farm — getting rid of a tree is a city service, and the rules change at the city line. We read the tree collection page for 5 cities in New York, linked just above: each one says whether the tree goes out for curbside pickup or to a drop-off site, and what has to come off it before it does.
Is there Christmas tree recycling in New York?: 3 of the 5 cities we cover in New York say on their own pages what becomes of a collected tree, and our pages quote that sentence. Where a city doesn't say, we don't say it either.
Who handles Christmas tree removal once the season is over?: The city, or the county authority that runs collection for it — that is the body every page in that January list is read from, and the only one that can tell you when it is running. Private haulers will take a tree away as well; they are not on this site, because we only write down what a city puts in writing itself.